STATE TRACKER · MD

Sweepstakes casinos in Maryland

Current status

Enforcement activity

Regulators have taken tracked enforcement action against operators here.

Last review: June 11, 2026
Authority: Md. Code Ann., Crim. Law §12-201 et seq

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)
Latest action: Dec 19, 2025: cease and desist

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).

How we got here

Every tracked event for Maryland, newest first.

Dec 19, 2025

Enforcement cease and desist

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission told Real Prize to immediately cease and desist all unauthorized online gaming in Maryland under Criminal Law Article 12-113, after finding its site offered casino gaming with consideration, chance and prize to people in Maryland, and asked it to confirm by email within 10 days that it will stop, with a cease date and wind-down plan. Signed by Michael Eaton, Managing Director, Gaming.

Source document Named in Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission notice to cease and desist to Real Prize: RealPrize
Dec 19, 2025

Enforcement cease and desist

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission told Lonestar Casino to immediately cease and desist all unauthorized online gaming in Maryland under Criminal Law Article 12-113, after finding its site offered casino gaming with consideration, chance and prize to people in Maryland, and asked it to confirm by email within 10 days that it will stop, with a cease date and wind-down plan. Signed by Michael Eaton, Managing Director, Gaming.

Source document Named in Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission notice to cease and desist to Lonestar Casino: LonestarCasino
Jun 3, 2025

Enforcement cease and desist

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency wrote to Sunflower Limited that Crown Coins Casino was offering and conducting online gaming in Maryland without legal authority, citing SG 9-1A and COMAR 36.03, and asked it to acknowledge that it will cease offering any casino game in Maryland and to name a date within 10 days. Signed by Michael Eaton, Managing Director, Gaming.

Source document Named in MLGCA cease-and-desist letter to Sunflower Limited d/b/a Crown Coins Casino: Crown Coins
Jun 3, 2025

Enforcement cease and desist

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency wrote to Yellow Social Interactive Limited that Pulsz was offering and conducting online gaming in Maryland without legal authority, citing SG 9-1A and COMAR 36.03, and asked it to acknowledge that Pulsz will cease offering any casino game in Maryland and to name a date within 10 days. Signed by Michael Eaton, Managing Director, Gaming.

Source document Named in MLGCA cease-and-desist letter to Yellow Social Interactive Limited d/b/a Pulsz: Pulsz
May 7, 2024

Enforcement cease and desist

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency wrote that McLuck was offering and conducting online gaming activity in Maryland without legal authority, citing SG 9-1A and COMAR 36.03 (casino), SG 9-1E-01 and COMAR 36.10 and 36.11 (sports wagering) and SG 9-1D-01 and COMAR 36.09 (fantasy), and asked for an email by May 31, 2024 stating that McLuck will cease all sports wagering, casino game and fantasy activity in Maryland within 10 days. Signed by Michael Eaton, Managing Director, Gaming.

Source document Named in MLGCA cease-and-desist letter to McLuck: McLuck

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: December 19, 2025 (cease and desist)
Last human review: June 11, 2026
Effective date: Not recorded
Basis of classification: enforcement-based

How to read these rows

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).

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.