Indiana's Sweepstakes Casino Ban Takes Effect; Stake.us Exits the State

Indiana's ban on sweepstakes casinos took effect on July 1, and Stake.us, Pulsz and dozens of other platforms have blocked access for Indiana players, as reported by Sports Handle.

What the law does

House Bill 1052, signed by Governor Mike Braun in March 2026, bans the dual-currency model that defines the sweepstakes casino category, free-to-obtain Gold Coins alongside Sweeps Coins that can be redeemed for cash or prizes. The Indiana Gaming Commission enforces the ban with civil penalties of up to $100,000 per violation, and the law applies to out-of-state operators serving Indiana players. Criminal charges were considered but rejected in the bill's final version.

The commission's stated rationale: sweepstakes platforms operated outside state licensing, generated no tax revenue, and lacked the consumer protections required of regulated gambling.

Part of a national pattern

Indiana is the first state with a new sweepstakes ban taking effect in 2026, and per Sports Handle around a dozen states now ban or restrict dual-currency platforms, including California, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Nevada, Michigan and Washington. Sweepstakes casinos remain legal in Texas, Florida and Ohio.

The named exit worth noting for our readers is Stake.us, the sweepstakes arm of Stake, the largest brand in our rankings. Its US sweepstakes product and the stake.com crypto casino are separate operations under separate rules; this law touches the former, not the latter. Neither accepts real-money crypto play from the US, and nothing about that changes here.

Why a crypto casino site is covering this

Sweepstakes casinos have been the main onshore, legal-gray alternative for US players who can't access offshore crypto casinos. Each state that closes the sweepstakes route narrows the legal middle ground between regulated state casinos and offshore sites, and shifts where displaced players go next.

Our standing guidance is unaffected but bears repeating: gambling laws vary by state and country, every casino keeps its own restricted-country list, and it is on you to verify that playing at any site, sweepstakes or crypto, is legal where you live. Our reviews list restricted countries for every site we cover, and none of the casinos in our rankings should be used from a jurisdiction where they're prohibited.