Mississippi bill goes further than most to completely ban sweepstakes

A Mississippi bill aims to ban all online sweepstakes casinos, with criminal penalties of up to $100,000 in fines, 10 years in prison and forfeiture of property.

from Mississippi Senate Bill 2104 seeks to amend official state law to include “any online, interactive, or computerized version of games within the scope of the ban on betting, gaming, or wagering.” This would effectively ban all online sweepstakes casinos, going a step further than some other states which are pursuing similar legislation but focusing on dual currency games. Six other states – New York, Indiana, Florida, Maine, Iowa and Virginia – have already passed their own bans.

A bill has been introduced in Mississippi to specifically ban online sweepstakes casinos. Billing language is not limited to dual currency. Each offense would be a felony punishable by a $100,000 fine, up to 10 years in prison + forfeiture of property. Link to BS 2104: https://t.co/eybCiB4mNx pic.twitter.com/QtEdNqaiid

-Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) January 10, 2026

This is not the first time that Mississippi itself has introduced such a bill, with similar legislation has not progressed as of April 2025after sports betting was added to the bill.

SB 2104 also seeks to change the criminal penalty from a misdemeanor to a felony. The penalty for violating the ban could therefore be up to a fine of $100,000, 10 years in prison and confiscation of property in the prosecution of any offense if guilt is proven.

Mississippi’s Current Approach to Sweepstakes

Currently, Internet sweepstakes businesses are already banned in Mississippi. While this change solidifies the illegality of online sweepstakes casinos, two cases have already done so, with a state court finding that online sweepstakes games were also illegal in Moore v. Mississippi Gaming Comm’n and Mississippi Gaming Comm’n v. Six Electronic Video Gaming Devices.

If the buck passed, Mississippi prosecutors could choose to try cases either in the county where the offense occurred or in Hinds County. The Mississippi Gaming Commission would also be able to enter into contingency fee agreements to pursue forfeitures related to illegal gaming, giving more power to the Commission and prosecutors.

Featured Image: Wikimedia Commonslicensed CC BY-SA 4.0

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