Tennessee Passes Key Bill With Anti-Sweeps Language
Tennessee has joined Louisiana in voting to pass a bill that contains key anti-sweepstakes casino language. Unlike in its southern neighbor, the bill in Tennessee has passed both the House and the Senate, so it's much closer to becoming law. If it does, it will have serious ramifications for the sweepstakes casino industry.
Tennessee passes House Bill 2136
Tennessee House Bill 2136 has been voted on and approved by both the Senate and House of Representatives. The only thing left is for Governor Bill Lee to either sign it or veto. It is expected that he will sign the bill into law rather than veto it, dealing a blow to sweepstakes casinos in his state.
The primary, but far from sole, purpose of the bill is to ban dual-currency systems in online casino-style games. This anti-sweeps language survived multiple attempted amendments, and it's now a signature away from being the law. However, it may not matter in the end.
Because of all this, many sweeps casinos have stopped operating in the state. With the impending legal issues, it made no sense for them to stick around. Whether it's legal or not, access to sweepstakes casinos is and will remain pretty limited for Tennesseans.
The capital report specifically classifies any sort of online sweepstakes game as gambling in the state, and that includes anything that is online, simulates any sort of casino activity, and has at least one form of digital currency that can be redeemed for prizes. It's a widespread language that will affect so many areas of this industry.
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Senate stands firm
As mentioned, this bill survived both chambers of government with the anti-sweepstakes language intact. However, this is largely due to the rigidity of the Tennessee Senate. The House actually tried to amend it and add a study on the impacts of these things before banning them through law, but the Senate stood firm.
Ultimately, the bill's official summary boils down to this: " This bill prohibits gambling; the operation of gambling devices; and the operation, conducting, or commercial promoting of online sweepstakes games and other forms of online or app-based gambling as offenses against the public health, safety, and welfare of this state."
Governor Lee has about 10 days to sign the bill once he receives it. The governor has not made any public statements on sweepstakes casinos yet. If he signs it, Tennessee will become the third state to ban sweepstakes casinos outright in 2026. It is a significant trend to watch for the gambling industry.
Sweeps are already leaving
As mentioned in the report, Tennessee's sweepstakes casinos have already taken a big hit. High 5 Casino, Stake.us, RealPrize, and LoneStar Casino have all been gone since the end of 2025, which was several months ago. They got out well ahead of the bill, but it was probably good foresight.
Several other operators announced the removal of their Tennessee customer bases as well. And with the bill presumably becoming law, that will be the final push for the stragglers to follow suit and prevent any Tennesseean from using online sweepstakes casinos.
