Sweepstakes ban moves through Maryland senate committee
Legislators in Maryland took an incremental step toward banning social casinos using sweepstakes prizing in the state. A bill intended to do so sailed through the state senate’s budget and taxation committee on 7 March.
SB 860, introduced by senator Paul Corderman, would prohibit “a person from operating, conducting, or promoting online sweepstakes games or supporting the operation, conducting, or promotion of online sweepstakes games”.
The bill got through the committee without any dissenting voices.
Earlier this year, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency sent cease-and-desist letters to 11 sweepstakes casinos and sportsbooks. The regulator declared the websites illegal and demanded they block access to Maryland residents. The agency didn’t identify the operators, but The Closing Line newsletter reported Stake.us and Rebet were among six that responded. None agreed to comply with the state’s demands at the time.
New Jersey lawmaker flips, flops
Meanwhile, in other sweepstakes news, a New Jersey lawmaker has apparently done a 180 when it comes to the class of sites.
Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese introduced a bill that would prohibit the “sweepstakes model of wagering; establishes new penalties for unlawful gambling operations and practices; directs Division of Consumer Affairs and Division of Gaming Enforcement to enforce penalties.”
The 180 here is that, earlier this year, Calabrese introduced a bill that would have facilitated the legalisation and regulation sweepstakes sites in the same way as existing state-licensed online casinos.
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