House Bill 1226 passed the Maryland House of Delegates by a 134-2 vote in 2026 - out of 141 members, that's about as close to unanimous as a contested gambling bill gets. It still died anyway, stalled in the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee when the session ran out of days. That means no sweepstakes-specific ban is in force in Maryland right now, but "right now" is carrying real weight in that sentence. For how the underlying sweepstakes doctrine works nationally, see our guide to whether sweepstakes casinos are legal.
Has Maryland's regulator acted against sweepstakes casinos?
The regulator has not waited for a statute. On March 12, 2025 the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency sent VGW a cease-and-desist order, signed by Managing Director of Gaming Michael Eaton, saying that VGW "d/b/a Chumba Casino and Luckyland Slots … is offering and conducting online gaming activities in Maryland without legal authority to do so," and demanding it stop within 10 days and produce any legal analysis supporting its position. A second order went to both brands - Chumba Casino and LuckyLand Slots - on November 18, 2025 after the first went unheeded. Neither letter is published in full; both are reported by outlets that obtained them. Separately, the City of Baltimore is suing six operator groups in a consumer-protection case that no defendant has yet answered - see the Baltimore filing, explained.
| Date | What happened in Maryland |
|---|---|
| March 12, 2025 | Lottery and Gaming Control Agency sends VGW its first cease-and-desist over Chumba Casino and LuckyLand Slots, with 10 days to stop |
| November 18, 2025 | A second order goes to both brands after the first went unheeded |
| April 8, 2026 | Baltimore e-files its First Amended Complaint naming six operator groups |
| 2026 session | HB 1226 passes the House 134-2 and HB 295 passes 105-24; both die in Senate Budget and Taxation. SB 652 stalls after a hearing |
| Today | No ban statute in force; Maryland stays a restricted market |
We classify Maryland as restricted rather than open for that reason. Note the twist: the operator that received both orders is not one of the brands below, and the 16 ranked brands that do exclude Maryland appear to be doing it without having been ordered to.
We earn commissions from some brands listed below. Rankings come from our 12-criteria model, never from payment. Full disclosure →
Which are the best sweepstakes casinos in Maryland?
Sixteen of the 30 brands we rank already exclude Maryland voluntarily, ahead of any statute: WOW Vegas, McLuck, Jackpota, High 5 Casino, Mega Bonanza, Hello Millions, Stake.us, Moozi, Play Fame, Coinsback, Spree, Legendz, SpinBlitz, Shuffle.us, Pulsz Bingo and MetaWin.us all exclude Maryland in the lists we hold. That is more than half the ranked list, in a state where no ban is in force. Two of those sixteen lists, PlayFame's and Spree's, we read on the operators' own sites on August 4, 2026; the other fourteen come from published sources rather than a fresh read of each operator's terms, and most of those review pages carry a caution saying exactly that. The five below don't:
| Rank | Casino | No-Deposit Offer | Cash Redemption Min | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crown Coins Casino | 100,000 CC + 2 SC | Not clearly published | Most Trusted by Players |
| 2 | Sportzino | 170,000 GC + 7 SC | Not published - check in-app | Best Casino + Sportsbook |
| 3 | Zula Casino | 120,000 GC + 10 SC | Not published - check in-app | Best New-Player Experience |
| 4 | RealPrize | 100,000 GC + 2 SC | Not published - check in-app | Best Live Dealer & Game Shows |
| 5 | Fortune Wins (formerly Fortune Coins) | Up to 20M GC + $50 FC (varies) | 5,000 FC/day ($50) | Biggest Gold Coin Welcome |
Maryland readers should know one thing about #5. Fortune Wins is the April 7, 2026 rename of Fortune Coins, and Blazesoft Ltd. and Social Gaming LLC are named among the six defendant groups in the City of Baltimore's consumer-protection case, in the First Amended Complaint the city e-filed on April 8, 2026, which asks the court to stop them taking money from Baltimore residents. (Which of the two actually operates the brand is itself disputed in our sources - see the operator page.) No defendant has answered and no court has ruled, and the brand still accepts Maryland players; its position here is its 12-criteria score, which we don't adjust for pending litigation. But you should have the fact before you register. Details: who the six defendant groups are and our Blazesoft operator page.
Table cross-checked against each brand's own state-exclusion list in our database as of July 27, 2026, with the PlayFame, Spree, Punt and Chanced lists read directly from the operators on August 4, 2026; re-verify before you register, since these lists move often. See how we rank all 30 ranked casinos for the full methodology.
Sportzino and Zula Casino both outscore several larger names on our 12-criteria model despite not publishing an exact redemption minimum - a sportsbook pairing and an unusually deep slots library, respectively, carry enough weight in Game Library and User Experience to offset that gap. If a fast, published cash-out minimum matters more to you than either feature, weigh the table above against our full rankings before committing to one brand.
What happened to Maryland's HB 1226, HB 295, and SB 652?
Maryland ran three separate 2026 bills at once. HB 1226 passed the House 134-2; a second bill, HB 295, passed 105-24; both died in the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee before a vote. SB 652, which would have given regulators and the Attorney General more cease-and-desist power short of a full ban, stalled after a hearing. The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency actively backed the ban bills - a sponsor with regulatory authority and a return trip in 2027 is a reasonable expectation, though not a confirmed filing.
How do I start playing from Maryland?
- Pick a brand from the table above based on what you value - redemption speed, live dealer games, or Gold Coin volume.
- Register with a valid ID; expect a KYC check before your first redemption. Our registration and KYC guide covers what documents operators actually ask for.
- Claim the no-deposit welcome offer before buying any Gold Coins.
- Log in daily - most brands run an escalating login bonus on top of the welcome offer.
- Request free Sweeps Coins by mail through AMOE if you'd rather not purchase; our free-coins guide has the exact format.
- Redeem once you clear the brand's playthrough and minimum - see the table above for what's published.