STATE TRACKER · MD
Sweepstakes casinos in Maryland
Current status
Enforcement activity
Regulators have taken tracked enforcement action against operators here.
Regulators are acting against operators here, and terms, availability and redemption windows can change with little notice. Keep your own record of what you deposited and what you redeemed. Tell us what happened to you
- Sweeps Coins (SC) redemption
- Contested, regulators are acting
- Gold Coin (GC) free play
- Generally not targeted. 83 of 121 operators we track are recorded as not accepting Maryland
- Minimum age
- 18+
- Age floor source
- Md. Code Ann., Gen. Provisions § 1-401(a)(2) (Age of majority)
PRIMARY-SOURCE NOTE
Maryland has agency letters, a city lawsuit and two House bills but no sweepstakes statute
What the law does
The authority our record cites for Maryland is the lottery subtitle of the Criminal Law Article. Section 12-203 bars any person from holding a lottery in the State and from selling a lottery device here for a lottery drawn in the State or anywhere else1. A violation is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment of three to twelve months, a fine of $200 to $1,000, or both, for each violation1. The same section lets a buyer recover $50 for each device bought, from the seller or from anyone who aided or abetted the seller1. Section 12-208 directs courts to read sections 12-201 through 12-207 liberally, so that any ticket or lottery device that pays money or delivers another item when, in the nature of a lottery, an event or contingency occurs counts as a lottery ticket2. Under section 12-210, a second or later conviction under the subtitle carries up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both3.
What has happened since
Maryland Lottery and Gaming contacts online platforms that appear to be operating illegally and asks each to confirm it is not, or to stop the activity it is not licensed or registered to conduct4. Its published letters include one to VGW dated March 2025 and separate November 2025 letters to Chumba Casino and LuckyLand Slots4. The House passed HB 295, filed at the agency's request, 105 to 24 on March 20, 2026, and its bill page records a Senate Budget and Taxation hearing and nothing later5. HB 1226, the Maryland Illegal Online Gambling Enforcement Act, passed the House 135 to 1 on March 23, 2026, with the same Senate record6. On March 4, 2026, the City of Baltimore sued the companies behind Chumba, LuckyLand, McLuck, Pulsz, Stake.us, High 5 and Fortune Coins under its Consumer Protection Ordinance7. No operator here has a recorded exit date, and 83 of the operators we track are recorded as not accepting Maryland players.
What is still open
Which statute would a court apply to a dual-currency site? Our state record cites the lottery subtitle, but one theory in the Baltimore complaint's consumer claim is a violation of section 12-102, which among other things bars receiving or forwarding anything of value to be bet on a race, contest or contingency7. That section carries up to six months, a fine of up to $5,000, or both8. The complaint's allegations are the city's, and our record holds no ruling on them or on whether a city ordinance can carry a state gambling theory. Our record also marks no affiliate liability for Maryland. The HB 1226 synopsis reaches people who knowingly support or promote illegal online gambling, and neither House bill has a recorded Senate vote6.
- Enforcement search
- Maryland Lottery and Gaming publishes the cease-and-desist letters it has sent, among them a March 2025 letter to VGW4. The City of Baltimore's consumer protection suit against six defendant groups, filed March 4, 2026, has no ruling in our record7.
- Question still open
- Whether a court would test a dual-currency site under the lottery subtitle our record cites, or under the betting offense in section 12-102 that the Baltimore complaint relies on, has no answer in our record7.
Sources for this note
- Md. Code, Criminal Law section 12-203, lottery prohibited (Maryland General Assembly) accessed Sep 28, 2026
- Md. Code, Criminal Law section 12-208, liberal construction (Maryland General Assembly) accessed Sep 28, 2026
- Md. Code, Criminal Law section 12-210, subsequent convictions (Maryland General Assembly) accessed Sep 28, 2026
- Legal vs. Illegal Online Gaming, with cease-and-desist letters (Maryland Lottery and Gaming) accessed Sep 28, 2026
- HB 295 (2026 Regular Session), Gaming, Prohibition on Interactive Games and Revenue From Illegal Markets (Maryland General Assembly) accessed Sep 28, 2026
- HB 1226 (2026 Regular Session), Maryland Illegal Online Gambling Enforcement Act (Maryland General Assembly) accessed Sep 28, 2026
- City of Baltimore v. VGW Holdings Ltd. et al., Case No. C-24-CV-26-001646, complaint e-filed March 4, 2026 (copy posted by plaintiff's counsel) accessed Sep 28, 2026
- Md. Code, Criminal Law section 12-102, betting and pools (Maryland General Assembly) accessed Sep 28, 2026
Sources rechecked 2026-09-28. Next scheduled review 2026-12-28.
What the law says
Maryland's lottery prohibitions (Crim. Law Title 12, subtitle 2) criminalize selling or possessing 'lottery devices': defined in §12-201 as any 'thing by which a person promises or guarantees' that a ticket/certificate 'will, when an event or contingency occurs, entitle the purchaser or holder to receive money': generally as misdemeanors. Current sweepstakes enforcement is administrative: MLGCA cease-and-desist letters to unlicensed operators (reported ~25% compliance).
Operators and Maryland
Because of Maryland's status, we don't list or link operator promotions for this state.
83 of the 121 operators we track are recorded as not accepting Maryland players, and 23 of those records cite the operator's own terms.
38 operators we track do not list Maryland among excluded states in the terms we last read, dated June 10, 2026 to October 2, 2026.
Operator families whose every tracked brand is recorded as not accepting Maryland: B-Two Operations Limited, Kinetix Ventures, Inc., MW Services Limited and Realplay Tech Inc.
How this classification was reached
Show the record, the citation and the method
What the Maryland classification rests on
- Source date
- Not recorded
- Last human review
- June 11, 2026
- Effective date
- Not recorded
- Basis of classification
- statutory
Where the operator counts come from
Of the 38 records that do not exclude Maryland, 30 cite the operator's own terms or rules, 1 comes from a backfill of the operator's terms and 7 are inferred because the terms do not list Maryland. Of the 83 exclusion records, 14 cite the operator's own terms or rules, 9 come from a backfill of the operator's terms, 1 comes from the operator's site configuration and 59 come from our bulk backfill without a terms citation.
Citation as stored
Md. Code Ann., Crim. Law §12-201 et seq. (lottery devices / unlawful lotteries); MLGCA cease-and-desist program (no sweeps-specific statute enacted).
Primary sources on file
Method
Methodology · Corrections · Changelog · How to read a state page
Maryland questions
Are sweepstakes casinos legal in Maryland?
Regulators have taken tracked enforcement action against operators here. Authority: Md. Code Ann., Crim. Law §12-201 et seq.
What law does the City of Baltimore's lawsuit against sweepstakes casinos rely on?
The complaint, filed March 4, 2026 in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, brings one claim under the city's Consumer Protection Ordinance and says the defendants run gambling platforms in violation of Criminal Law section 12-102. It asks for civil penalties, an injunction, disgorgement and restitution.
Which operators accept Maryland players?
83 of the 121 operators we track are recorded as not accepting Maryland players, and 23 of those records cite the operator's own terms. Trust Score leaderboard →
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.