Louisiana Plans to Connect Sweepstakes Casinos with Racketeering Charges

Louisiana legislators are getting ready to make the state’s approach to online sweepstakes casinos much tougher by including certain gambling-related offenses in the list of racketeering crimes. A new proposal, House Bill 53, aims to add to the list of activities that can lead to prosecution under Louisiana’s racketeering law, which would greatly increase the possible consequences for operators.

Louisiana Bill Could Bring Million-Dollar Fines and 50-Year Sentences for Sweepstakes Casinos

Rep. Bryan Fontenot introduced the bill before the 2026 legislative session, which starts in early March. The measure aims to update existing law to include several gambling violations as qualifying racketeering acts instead of creating a new ban on sweepstakes-style gaming platforms. These offenses include computer-based gambling, electronic sweepstakes devices, illegal betting, wagering on cockfights, and bribing sports participants.

By including these crimes in racketeering law, prosecutors could pursue cases against individual platforms and broader networks linked to their operations. Legal experts point out that such cases might involve conspiracy charges, more extensive investigations, and the possibility to seize assets connected to illegal gaming operations.

The punishments linked to racketeering convictions rank among the toughest in Louisiana’s criminal laws. People who are found guilty could end up paying fines as high as $1 million, spending up to 50 years doing hard labor in prison, or both. When the unlawful activity involves more than $10,000, offenders might also lose their chance for parole or probation for part of their sentence.

Sweepstakes Casino Operators Flee Louisiana Amid Legal Pressure

The proposal comes after a rocky year in Louisiana’s push to control sweepstakes casinos. In 2025, lawmakers passed a bill to ban the two-currency sweepstakes model that online platforms often use. Governor Jeff Landry ended up vetoing this law. He said current laws already made these operations illegal, and regulators had enough power to act without new rules.

After the veto, officials stepped up their efforts to enforce the law. The Louisiana Gaming Control Board teamed up with the Attorney General’s office. They sent out loads of cease-and-desist orders to companies offering sweepstakes-style casino games to people in the state. This led many well-known platforms to either leave Louisiana or limit what they offer to games that do not involve real money.

State officials have always said that online gambling setups where players can bet something valuable to win prizes are against Louisiana’s wide-ranging illegal betting laws. The Attorney General’s office backed this view last year with an official legal statement saying that sweepstakes casinos break several state laws.

House Bill 53 shows a bigger change in how Louisiana lawmakers are tackling this issue. They now seem to be focusing on making current criminal laws stronger instead of creating new bans. By adding sweepstakes-related gambling crimes to racketeering laws, the state is taking a tougher stance to scare off operators and break up the businesses that support them.