Was Florida Able To Ban Sweepstakes Casinos?

Sweepstakes casinos are all the rage right now — in more ways than one.

First of all, they’ve caught fire in popularity, particularly in states without legal betting. Platforms like Stake and Fliff have shot up in popularity and App Store download rankings.

Of course, that popularity has come to the chagrin of licensed sports betting apps like DraftKings and FanDuel. Such apps say sweepstakes are operating illegally and not paying proper taxes, which then perks up the ears of lawmakers in many states.

Because of all this, states across the country are starting to come down on sweepstakes casinos. Bills have been proposed to rein down on the ascending industry, including in the state of Florida. This is one of the biggest markets in the country that has the power to set a powerful precedent elsewhere so let’s take you into what’s going on in the Sunshine State.

Florida Tries Twice To Rein In Sweepstakes Casinos

Florida betting is a big industry, and a monopoly at that. We’ve written ad nauseam about the Seminole Tribe, which has an exclusive compact with the state to offer both casino and sports betting. It’s a lucrative industry. How big? We don’t know since the Seminoles aren’t obligated to report their numbers like, say, state governments in other parts of the country.

But of course, both Seminoles and Florida politicians are incentivized to keep the profits rolling. Sweepstakes casinos have the potential to nip at those profits though, and that they have. This led to lawmakers coming out with two bills — Senate Bill 1404 and House Bill 1467 —  to criminalize the dual-currency model most of these platforms run on.

The dual-currency model is how sweepstakes casinos stay outside traditional gambling laws. Players buy one type of virtual coin to play games for fun, but they’re also given a second type of coin for free (“sweeps coins”) that can be used to win real cash prizes. Since no purchase is required to get sweeps coins, the sweepstakes sites argue they’re running promotional sweepstakes, not gambling.

SB 1404 and HB 1467 would’ve redefined “internet gambling” to include games that reward players based on chance, even if skill was involved. It was a wide net, and it spooked a lot of people. That’s why both bills ultimately died without real progress.

That’s despite the Florida legislature extending its session to June 6. Lawmakers had more time than usual to act. But even with that buffer, neither bill was brought forward, leaving the sweepstakes industry largely unscathed in Florida.

Sweepstake Companies Celebrate (For Now)

For the sweepstakes industry, the Florida outcome is a big, big win. Just how big, you ask? Stake is arguably the biggest player in the space. It’s believed they brought in $4.7 billion in reported revenue last year. That’s huge, and you have to believe Florida’s population contributes a big portion of that.

Florida is one of 11 states that tried to ban sweepstakes in 2025 and failed. That, of course, is no coincidence.

“We’re seeing a national trend,” said The Social and Promotional Games Association in a statement. “Legislators are starting to realize that banning sweepstakes doesn’t work. Innovation moves faster than regulation.”

That innovation, though, still exists in a gray market. Sweepstakes casinos aren’t regulated the way traditional gambling is. That means no oversight, no consumer protection standards, and no state tax revenue. Those potential issues mean this problem isn’t going away despite the 2025 wins.

But here’s an ace up the sleeve of sweepstakes companies. Any bills that try to come after them have to be written almost perfectly. Why? Because “regular” companies — think McDonald’s and Marriott — could be punished too. The issue Florida lawmakers ran into was that the pair of bills had the potential to rope in nearly any promotion that gave out prizes tied to a random draw. Obviously, that could open up a can of worms in itself.

Sweepstakes Still Feeling The Heat

As mentioned, this is a national issue nowadays. But there are some states that are succeeding in sniffing out sweepstakes companies.

New York, for example, is moving ahead with legislation that would ban dual-currency sweepstakes platforms outright. Senate Bill 5935 just passed out of committee with amendments and is heading toward a full vote. It’s a more measured bill, giving the New York Gaming Commission power to decide which operators qualify under the new rules.

The SPGA, as expected, wasn’t having it, calling it a “catastrophe.” The full quote was: “They’ve taken a mess and made it worse,” the group said. “Legislators admitted the bill was flawed and still pushed it forward.”

The contrast between Florida and New York couldn’t be any more different — for now. One state stalled out before it could act. But we do expect the gap to close over the coming years.

Florida’s fight against sweepstakes companies is far, far from over. They simply stand to lose too much to ignore it. It’s definitely a story we’ll be following closely on a national scale.