Unregulated sweepstakes casinos are booming in Pennsylvania, and according to the state’s top gaming regulators, there’s not much they can do about it.
At a recent hearing with the Pennsylvania House Gaming Oversight Committee, officials from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) confirmed they’ve issued 18 cease-and-desist letters to online sweepstakes casinos targeting players in the state. But beyond that? Their hands are basically tied.
“The board is not a law enforcement agency,” said PGCB Chief Counsel Steve Cook, “and as a result, we are powerless to bring a criminal case challenging anyone operating one of these illegal gambling operations. The board can, however, pursue administrative and civil remedies when appropriate.”
No Legal Tools, Just Letters
Sweepstakes casinos operate in a legal gray zone, using a “dual currency” setup — one type of coin for free play, another for prizes — to sidestep traditional gambling laws. But Pennsylvania’s top regulators say their hands are tied when it comes to enforcement.
In a recent hearing with the House Gaming Oversight Committee, PGCB Chief Counsel Steve Cook laid it out plainly:
“Unfortunately, in the area of interactive gaming, we are significantly hamstrung by the specific language of our enabling statute,” he said.
The core problem lies in how state law defines terms like “interactive gaming” and “slot machines.” According to Cook, those definitions only apply to licensed operators, which effectively leaves sweepstakes platforms outside the scope of enforcement.
“The result is a nonsensical prohibition of conduct which, per the definitions, is already authorized,” he added.
A Game of Whack-a-Mole
Despite their limitations, the PGCB is doing what it can. According to Chief Enforcement Counsel Cyrus Pitre, the agency has sent 18 cease-and-desist letters, all of which were complied with. They’ve also reached out to Google, Apple, and Microsoft in an effort to remove sweepstakes apps from their platforms, and each enforcement action is preceded by a full investigation.
But that hasn’t slowed the growth.
“To date, we’ve issued approximately 18 such letters,” Pitre told lawmakers. “However, the sheer volume of these sites creates a whack-a-mole scenario. For every site we manage to shut down, countless others emerge or become operational each day.”
And while some platforms cooperate when contacted, there’s no legal requirement for them to do so. That’s where the real frustration lies, because the PGCB lacks the power to impose lasting shutdowns or penalties.
Consumer Protections at Risk
Pennsylvania’s outdated gaming laws aren’t just limiting enforcement, they’re leaving players exposed. Unlike licensed casinos, sweepstakes sites don’t have to follow the same rules. That means no guaranteed fairness, no required age checks, and no built-in tools for responsible gaming.
PGCB Chief Counsel Steve Cook put it plainly:
“In stark contrast to regulated and online casinos, sweepstakes platforms are not obligated to be tested for fairness to the patron nor are the sites obligated to provide responsible gaming services, age verification or other consumer protections.”
Calls for Legislative Action
Seeing the limits of their authority, PGCB officials are now pushing lawmakers to step up. They’re asking for updates to the Gaming Act that would let the board actually enforce the rules against sweepstakes operators that don’t follow the law.
Even Rep. Russ Diamond, who chairs the House Gaming Oversight Committee, agreed the state needs to think long-term:
“We have to do it in a way that not just takes care of what’s going on today,” he said, “but we have to try and anticipate what’s going to go on in a year, or two years, or five years, or 10 years. That’s very difficult for us to do because it’s hard to imagine what people are going to come up with.”
Right now, all the PGCB can really do is send warnings. Without legislative backup, they can’t truly protect players or hold bad actors accountable.
National Pressure Is Building
Pennsylvania isn’t alone in this. Across the U.S., states are waking up to the sweepstakes problem and many are rewriting the rules.
Here’s what other legislatures are doing:
- New York (SB 5935): Would ban dual-currency sweepstakes and penalize their vendors
- Connecticut (SB 1235): Blocks sweepstakes operators from simulating casino-style play
- Maryland (SB 860): Passed the Senate with an outright sweepstakes ban
- Louisiana (SB 181): Would criminalize sweepstakes gambling and fine suppliers, affiliates
- Mississippi (SB 2510): Targeted sweepstakes, but collapsed after sports betting was added
Most of these states acted after regulators hit the same wall PA is hitting now: no legal authority without new legislation.
Stuck in Limbo
So far, no bill regulating or banning sweepstakes casinos has made it through the Pennsylvania legislature, despite several tries. At least three efforts have stalled or died in recent sessions, leaving regulators and players caught in a legal gray zone with inconsistent enforcement.
Without stronger laws, PGCB officials warn that unlicensed platforms will keep operating in the shadows while undermining licensed casinos, dodging taxes, and offering no real protections for consumers.
“Sweepstakes casinos, despite their misleading presentation, are in our assessment illegal online gambling,” said Cyrus Pitre, Chief Enforcement Counsel. “But we need the law to catch up.”
Bottom Line
Pennsylvania regulators know the threat is real and so do lawmakers. But without updated laws, enforcement is mostly symbolic.
Until the legislature steps in, unlicensed sweepstakes casinos will keep thriving in the gray areas, while the state stays stuck watching from the sidelines.
Lawmakers know what’s broken, now it’s up to them to fix it.