The battle over the legality of sweepstakes casinos took an unexpected turn late last week when Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry vetoed a bill banning the controversial casinos. Governor Landry’s veto flew in the face of popular political support in the state for the ban and took many lawmakers by surprise.
If passed into law, SB181 would have
categorized sweepstakes casinos in the same realm as unlicensed offshore casinos, but Governor Landry had very different thoughts on the subject than the rest of Louisiana’s elected officials on the matter.
In his response to lawmakers on the veto, Governor Landry said he thought the bill was unnecessary and overly broad. “This bill attempts to criminalize certain secondary gambling activities on the internet that are already prohibited in Louisiana. Our current Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) has the regulatory authority, control and jurisdiction over all aspects of gaming activities and operations pursuant to the Louisiana Gaming Control Law,” he said in comments reported on by Legal Sports Report.
“This bill is a solution in search of a problem that is already being solved by our current system, and some of the language in this bill is overly broad and could be interpreted in an adverse manner which may harm or impede our current enforcement actions taken against these bad actors,” he added.
While Landry’s veto took his fellow lawmakers by surprise, it was lauded by The Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA), a trade group representing sweepstakes casinos. “Governor Landry’s veto is a powerful affirmation that not all online games are gambling and that innovation should not be met with prohibition. This legislation blurred critical legal distinctions and risked punishing legitimate businesses that comply with well-established sweepstakes laws and offer free-to-play experiences,” a spokesperson for the group said. Given that Governor Landry dutifully parroted the SPGA’s talking points on the matter, this was not surprising.
Though there is a small chance that the Louisiana Legislature could override the veto, it’s a pretty far stretch. The last time that happened in the state was back in 1974.