STATE TRACKER · DC

Sweepstakes casinos in District of Columbia

Current status

No tracked explicit prohibition

We have found no state law that explicitly prohibits sweepstakes casinos here. That is an absence of a tracked prohibition, not an affirmative authorization.

Last review: June 11, 2026
Authority: D.C. Code §22-1701

There is no tracked prohibition here to act on. An operator's own terms still decide whether it will register you, and some exclude states that have taken no action at all, so read the terms we link on each review page. See the operators we track

Sweeps Coins (SC) redemption: No tracked prohibition
Gold Coin (GC) free play: Yes
Minimum age: 18+
Age floor source: D.C. Code 46-101 (Age of Majority: Enumerated)

PRIMARY-SOURCE NOTE

The District keeps gambling for itself, and a pending bill would name dual-currency games

What the law does

Section 22-1701 of the D.C. Code reaches anyone who keeps, sets up, promotes or advertises a lottery in the District, directly or indirectly, and anyone who sells or transfers a chance, right or interest in one, tangible or intangible¹. Section 22-1704 is the device provision: it covers keeping a gaming table or gambling device designed for any game of chance played for money or property, and inducing a person to play at one, with imprisonment of up to 5 years and a possible fine at the level section 22-3571.01 sets². Against those prohibitions, section 22-1717 lists what the chapter does not reach: lotteries and daily numbers games run by the Office of Lottery and Gaming, the charitable bingo, raffles and Monte Carlo nights it regulates, sports wagering it regulates, licenses or operates, and game of skill machines it licenses³. Each carve-out runs through that Office, and none names a sweepstakes or dual-currency game³.

What has happened since

Our tracked event history for District of Columbia holds no entry, so the dated record here comes from the Council's own files. The codification history of section 36-601.13 shows a 2011 text that required internet lottery play to be confirmed as inside the District but lifted that check for fantasy sports and sweepstakes-style games "if such games are lawful", and shows D.C. Law 19-128, dated May 31, 2012, rewriting the section without that text⁴. On April 9, 2026, Councilmember Wendell Felder introduced B26-0656, the Internet Gaming and Consumer Protection Act of 2026, which would license online casino games through the Office of Lottery and Gaming⁵. The bill had a public hearing on May 4, 2026, and the tracker shows no first reading since⁵. On the operator side, 4 of the active operators we track are recorded as not taking players from District of Columbia, including every active brand of Kinetix Ventures, Inc., and we hold no exit record here.

What is still open

The first question is whether a dual-currency game with a free-entry route meets the lottery language of section 22-1701, which turns on selling a chance or interest in a prize and has no definition of consideration of its own¹. The introduced bill would supply one: its section 520(d) counts the purchase of credits, tokens, entries, subscriptions or access as consideration, whether direct or indirect⁶. Whether that definition, and the section 520(c) bar on sweepstakes gaming and dual-currency products outside a license, survive committee in their introduced form is not answered by anything on file⁶. The Council tracker lists a first reading, a final reading, mayoral review and congressional review as stages the bill has not started⁵.

Enforcement search: Our tracked event history for District of Columbia holds no enforcement action against a dual-currency operator, and the Council tracker for B26-0656 shows no vote on the bill after its public hearing⁵.
Question still open: Whether a free-entry route keeps a dual-currency game outside the lottery language of section 22-1701, and whether B26-0656 moves past committee with its sweepstakes clause intact, remain open¹⁵.

Sources for this note

D.C. Code section 22-1701, lotteries; promotion; sale or possession of tickets (Council of the District of Columbia) accessed Sep 28, 2026
D.C. Code section 22-1704, gaming; setting up gaming table; inducing play (Council of the District of Columbia) accessed Sep 28, 2026
D.C. Code section 22-1717, permissible gambling activities (Council of the District of Columbia) accessed Sep 28, 2026
D.C. Code section 36-601.13, operation of lottery, with codification history (Council of the District of Columbia) accessed Sep 28, 2026
B26-0656, Internet Gaming and Consumer Protection Act of 2026, legislative history (DC Council LIMS) accessed Sep 28, 2026
B26-0656 as introduced, April 9, 2026 (DC Council LIMS) accessed Sep 28, 2026

Sources rechecked 2026-09-28. Next scheduled review 2026-12-28.

What the law says

D.C. Code §22-1701: keeping, setting up, or promoting any lottery, or selling/transferring any chance or interest in one, is punishable by a fine (per §22-3571.01) or imprisonment up to 3 years, or both; possession of lottery records is prima facie evidence of violation.

Operators and District of Columbia

117 of the 121 operators we track are recorded as accepting District of Columbia players, and 13 of those are rated trusted.

4 of the 121 operators we track are recorded as not accepting District of Columbia players, and 4 of those records cite the operator's own terms.

Operator families whose every tracked brand is recorded as not accepting District of Columbia: Kinetix Ventures, Inc..

Highest Trust Scores among the operators recorded as accepting District of Columbia:

See the full list on the leaderboard filtered to District of Columbia →

How this classification was reached

Show the record, the citation and the method

What the District of Columbia classification rests on

Source date: Not recorded
Last human review: June 11, 2026
Effective date: Not recorded
Basis of classification: statutory

How to read these rows

Where the operator counts come from

Of the 117 acceptance records, 35 cite the operator's own terms or rules, 10 come from a backfill of the operator's terms, 1 comes from the operator's site configuration, 12 are inferred because the terms do not list District of Columbia, 56 come from our bulk backfill without a terms citation and 3 reflect site availability with no observed Sweeps Coins program. Of the 4 exclusion records, 4 cite the operator's own terms or rules.

Citation as stored

D.C. Code §22-1701 (lotteries; promotion; sale or possession of tickets).

Primary sources on file

D.C. Code §22-1701: Lotteries; promotion; sale or possession of tickets (D.C. Law Library) Council of the District of Columbia (code.dccouncil.gov) · accessed Jun 10, 2026

Method

Methodology · Corrections · Changelog · How to read a state page

District of Columbia questions

Are sweepstakes casinos legal in District of Columbia?

We have found no state law that explicitly prohibits sweepstakes casinos here. That is an absence of a tracked prohibition, not an affirmative authorization. Authority: D.C. Code §22-1701.

Is there a District of Columbia bill that would ban sweepstakes casinos?

B26-0656, the Internet Gaming and Consumer Protection Act of 2026, was introduced on April 9, 2026. As introduced, its section 520(c) would bar anyone other than a licensed operator, or a person expressly authorized by District law, from offering or conducting sweepstakes gaming or a dual-currency gaming product. The Council tracker shows a public hearing on May 4, 2026 and no first reading since.

Which operators accept District of Columbia players?

117 of the 121 operators we track are recorded as accepting District of Columbia players, and 13 of those are rated trusted. 4 of the 121 operators we track are recorded as not accepting District of Columbia players, and 4 of those records cite the operator's own terms. The leaderboard filtered to District of Columbia lists every one. Leaderboard filtered to District of Columbia →

This page is information, not legal advice. Laws and thresholds change quickly, so confirm with the operator and your state attorney general before depositing, or consult a lawyer. Last verified June 11, 2026. Send a correction.