Nevada has adopted a bill to introduce greater powers to combat illegal gambling operations.
The salvo will target both onshore and offshore companies, with a particular provision enabling the Silver State to pursue and prosecute unlicensed operators, even if they are based in other jurisdictions.
Sen. Rochelle Nguyen’s Senate Bill 256 sailed through the Assembly with a 42-0 vote last Thursday, following on from the unanimous backing it received in the Senate.
Due to a minor amendment set by the Assembly, the legislation will go back to the Senate for further approval, but it now appears a formality that SB 256 will proceed to Gov Joe Lombardo’s desk for assent.
Nevada wants to strengthen its authority over illicit operators, with a range of measures designed to add to its enforcement options as well as increasing the punishment for those involved.
SB 256’s provisions include the following:
- Enabling and permitting Nevada to prosecute unlicensed operators even if they are located outside the state, as long as they take bets from Nevada residents.
- Forcing illegal gamblers to forfeit all earnings, to be redirected to the state’s general fund.
- Amending certain gambling offenses from misdemeanors to felonies, carrying up to 10 years in prison.
- To introduce significant penalties for operating offshore gambling sites, including (but not explicitly stated) sweepstakes casinos
UPDATE: Nevada Legislature unanimously approves SB 256, which would allow the state to disgorge any profits, gains, or gross receipts resulting from illegal online gambling, including sweepstakes casinos websites. https://t.co/CblU3oCKhw
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) May 23, 2025
Ongoing legal wrangle over sweepstakes casinos
As intimated above the legislation does not refer specifically to online sweepstakes, but instead it points to state law defining gambling games as “any game played with cards, dice, equipment, or any mechanical, electromechanical or electronic device or machine for money, property, checks, credit, or any representative of value.”
With Montana becoming the first U.S. state to introduce an outright ban on sweeps, this latest example reflects the ongoing legal wrangle across America on the issue.
However, there could be further deliberation on whether or not the sweepstakes dual-currency system meets Nevada’s definition of “representative of value”.
SBC 256 has been backed by various industry bodies such as the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, the Nevada Resort Association, and the Vegas Chamber of Commerce.
Those entities see the legislation as essential to act as a bulwark against the rise of the black market, to protect Nevada’s casino and tourism industries, as well as to safeguard state tax revenues earned through approved operators.
Image credit: David Vives/Unsplash
