Connecticut did not narrow the space for sweepstakes casinos with quiet clarifications. It passed a law. Senate Bill 1235, signed in June 2025 as Public Act 25-112, made operating or promoting an online sweepstakes casino a Class D felony from October 1, 2025.
What the law does
Public Act 25-112 treats the sweepstakes casino model as a crime rather than a gray area. Running one, or promoting one, is a Class D felony in Connecticut. The ban took effect on October 1, 2025, the same day as the Montana and Nevada bans.
Connecticut was the second state to pass a sweepstakes casino ban, after Montana. Because the law covers promotion as well as operation, it reaches the marketing around these sites, not only the companies that run them.
How operators responded
Every brand in our top 15 that is still operating now keeps Connecticut out of Sweeps Coins play. Stake.us, Chumba Casino, Global Poker, Pulsz, High 5 Casino, McLuck, Hello Millions, WOW Vegas and Fortune Wins all list it as excluded. Crown Coins keeps a social-only version open in Connecticut, with no Sweeps Coins.
Some brands go further than switching off Sweeps Coins. Pulsz, for example, does not let Connecticut residents open an account at all.
A licensed market already exists
Connecticut is one of the few states with legal real-money online casinos, so residents who want online casino games have a licensed, regulated option. The ban leaves that market in place and removes the unlicensed alternative. Licensed sites answer to a state regulator, which gives players a formal complaints route that sweepstakes sites, with no gaming regulator behind them, do not offer.
New Jersey, another state with licensed online casinos, banned sweepstakes casinos in August 2025, with civil penalties of up to $100,000 for a first violation and $250,000 for repeat violations, per day. Having a regulated market did not make either state more tolerant of sweepstakes casinos.
Part of a wider wave
Connecticut's law was an early entry in a run of statutes. New Jersey's ban took effect in August 2025 and New York's in December 2025. California's followed on January 1, 2026, and Tennessee, Indiana, Maine and Louisiana acted during 2026. Bans now cover California, Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York and Tennessee, and Oklahoma's takes effect on November 1, 2026. Washington, Idaho and Michigan restricted the model earlier.
What it means for players
No sweepstakes casino can legally offer Sweeps Coins play to Connecticut residents. If a site still accepts you from Connecticut, that is a warning sign, not a loophole. For real-money play, stick to the state's licensed online casinos.
If you had a Sweeps Coins balance at a brand that has left Connecticut, check that operator's help pages for how it handled redemptions when it exited.
Updated September 23, 2026: This article has been rewritten. The original version described Connecticut's approach as quiet clarifications and guidance. In fact, Public Act 25-112 made operating or promoting a sweepstakes casino a Class D felony from October 1, 2025.
