STATE TRACKER · MT
Sweepstakes casinos in Montana
Current status
Prohibited
State law prohibits dual-currency sweepstakes casinos here.
We list and link no operator promotions for a prohibited state. If you still hold a Sweeps Coins balance with an operator that has exited, contact its support about redemption. Tell us what happened to you
- Sweeps Coins (SC) redemption
- Prohibited
- Gold Coin (GC) free play
- Don't assume exempt: the statute reaches “any form of currency”
- Minimum age
- 18+
- Age floor source
- Mont. Code Ann. § 41-1-101 (Minors and adults defined)
- In effect since
- Oct 1, 2025
- Latest action
- Oct 1, 2025: effective
PRIMARY-SOURCE NOTE
Montana writes online casinos into its internet gambling definition, with a felony clause
What the law does
Section 23-5-112 is the definitions section of the Montana gambling chapter, and SB 555 rewrote its entry for internet gambling1. The amended text says the term includes online casinos by whatever name known, and it names any platform, website or application that knowingly transmits or receives gambling information, lets consumers bet with any form of currency, and pays out any form of currency1. The same entry carves out online casinos that do not allow currency of any kind1. An earlier entry in the section already listed internet gambling as an illegal gambling enterprise1. The penalty is in section 23-5-1622. Its subsection (3) makes a person who purposely or knowingly operates an illegal internet gambling site within the state's borders, including through licensed or unlicensed offshore sources, subject to felony liability, which subsection (1) sets at a fine of up to $50,000, up to 10 years in prison, or both, for each violation2.
What has happened since
The legislature's bill record shows SB 555 clearing the Senate 40 to 8 on April 5, 2025 and the House 88 to 11 on April 23, 2025, and it lists the act as Chapter 626 of the 2025 session laws4. The history notes under sections 23-5-112 and 23-5-162 both cite that chapter12. Every section has applied since October 1, 2025. Our Montana event history holds the signing, recorded as "SB 555 signed: internet gambling definition broadened", and the start date, recorded as "SB 555 takes effect". It holds no charge, agency order or ruling. The Gambling Control Division's sweepstakes FAQ describes a sweepstakes in Montana as a free promotional game of chance and does not mention online casinos5. The exit column is still blank for Montana: no operator has a dated exit, and 118 of the tracked operators are listed as closed to players there.
What is still open
Section 23-5-154 makes it a crime to purposely or knowingly advertise for or solicit another person to join an illegal gambling enterprise, punishable under sections 23-5-161 and 23-5-1623. Our state record marks affiliate liability as absent for Montana, so the first question is whether that section reaches a publisher that links to a covered online casino. The second is where the new clause meets the older exclusion for promotional games of chance in the definition of gambling, which the division's FAQ relies on when it says a sweepstakes must be free to enter15. No agency or court reading in our record draws that line for a site that sells coin packages and gives its redeemable coins away.
- Enforcement search
- The Montana entries in our event history are the signing of the online casino bill and the date it took effect. Nothing we hold shows a criminal charge, an agency order or a court ruling under the amended sections, and the sweepstakes FAQ that the Gambling Control Division publishes does not mention online casinos.
- Question still open
- Does the solicitation section, which reaches anyone who knowingly advertises an illegal gambling enterprise, cover a publisher that links to a covered online casino? Where does the online casino clause stop and the promotional game exclusion begin? No record we hold answers either.
Sources for this note
- Mont. Code Ann. section 23-5-112, Definitions, Montana Code Annotated 2025 (Montana Legislature) accessed Sep 28, 2026
- Mont. Code Ann. section 23-5-162, Criminal liabilities, felony, Montana Code Annotated 2025 (Montana Legislature) accessed Sep 28, 2026
- Mont. Code Ann. section 23-5-154, Soliciting participation in illegal gambling activity prohibited (Montana Legislature) accessed Sep 28, 2026
- SB 555 (2025), LC2686, bill record with votes, chapter number and effective dates (Montana Legislature) accessed Sep 28, 2026
- Sweepstakes FAQs, Gambling Control Division (Montana Department of Justice) accessed Sep 28, 2026
Sources rechecked 2026-09-28. Next scheduled review 2026-12-28.
What the law says
MCA 23-5-112 is definitional; prohibitions and penalties sit elsewhere in MCA Title 23, ch. 5 (and SB 555's amended sections, reported to include § 23-5-151). Internet gambling conducted with any form of currency is illegal. Exact offense grading is still being verified against the official code; we cite penalty levels only after confirmation.
How we got here
Every tracked event for Montana, newest first.
-
Oct 1, 2025
In effect effective
Amended definitions of gambling and internet gambling in MCA 23-5-112 become operative.
-
May 12, 2025
Enacted signed
Mont. Code Ann. § 23-5-112 amended so internet gambling conducted with any form of currency is illegal: written to capture dual-currency sweepstakes.
Operators and Montana
Because of Montana's status, we don't list or link operator promotions for this state.
118 of the 121 operators we track are recorded as not accepting Montana players, and 58 of those records cite the operator's own terms.
3 operators we track do not list Montana among excluded states in the terms we last read, dated July 7, 2026.
Operator families whose every tracked brand is recorded as not accepting Montana: B-Two Operations Limited, Kinetix Ventures, Inc., Mamba Limited, MW Services Limited, Realplay Tech Inc, UTech Solutions LLC and VGW (Virtual Gaming Worlds).
How this classification was reached
Show the record, the citation and the method
What the Montana classification rests on
- Source date
- October 1, 2025 (effective)
- Last human review
- June 11, 2026
- Effective date
- October 1, 2025
- Basis of classification
- statutory
Where the operator counts come from
Of the 3 records that do not exclude Montana, 3 cite the operator's own terms or rules. Of the 118 exclusion records, 48 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 and 59 come from our bulk backfill without a terms citation.
Citation as stored
Mont. Code Ann. § 23-5-112 (definitions of 'gambling' and 'internet gambling', as amended by SB 555, 2025; signed 2025-05-12, eff. 2025-10-01).
Source documents
Primary sources on file
Method
Methodology · Corrections · Changelog · How to read a state page
Montana questions
Are sweepstakes casinos legal in Montana?
State law prohibits dual-currency sweepstakes casinos here. Authority: Mont. Code Ann. § 23-5-112, in effect since October 1, 2025.
What penalty does Montana attach to running an online casino site from outside the state?
As section 23-5-162 reads after SB 555, a person who purposely or knowingly operates any type of illegal internet gambling site within the state's borders, including through licensed or unlicensed offshore sources, is subject to the felony liability in that section: a fine of up to $50,000, up to 10 years in prison, or both, for each violation.
Can I still play free Gold Coin (GC) games in Montana?
Montana's action targets the dual-currency model: the Sweeps Coin (SC) side that can be redeemed for cash prizes. Montana's statute is broader than most. It reaches internet gambling conducted with “any form of currency,” so don't assume Gold Coin play is exempt here.
Which operators accept Montana players?
118 of the 121 operators we track are recorded as not accepting Montana players, and 58 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.