Governments on both sides of the Atlantic are accelerating their efforts to bring online gambling under direct regulatory control, as US lawmakers move to combine state-run digital lotteries with a crackdown on unlicensed casino-style platforms. What is unfolding in America mirrors a broader global shift in which governments are no longer willing to leave fast-growing online gambling markets in legal grey zones. The WP Times editorial desk reports this, citing legislative hearings and regulatory filings.
The latest flashpoint is Indiana, where lawmakers have approved a bill that would allow the state-run Hoosier Lottery to sell tickets online for the first time, while a second proposal moves to outlaw so-called “sweepstakes casinos” that currently operate beyond the reach of gambling regulators. Although the debate is formally local, the implications are international: the US is effectively redesigning how digital gambling will be taxed, supervised and monetised in the years ahead.
At present, millions of Americans already gamble online, but much of that activity flows through loosely regulated or offshore platforms. Sweepstakes casinos, which operate by offering “free” credits that can be converted into cash prizes, have grown rapidly precisely because they fall outside traditional gambling definitions. In Indiana alone, industry groups estimate that around 200,000 people now use such services. Yet these platforms pay no gambling taxes and are not overseen by gaming authorities, leaving consumer protection, fraud control and age verification largely in private hands.
By contrast, the Hoosier Lottery is a fully regulated public institution. It already generates roughly $340 million a year in profits for the state from sales of about $1.7 billion. Those figures, however, have remained flat for five years as younger consumers increasingly move their spending to mobile apps and online services. Lawmakers believe digital ticket sales could reverse that trend. State analysts project that online lottery operations could raise annual revenue by between $314 million and $629 million within three years, delivering tens of millions of dollars in extra profit for public services.
From a government perspective, the strategy is simple: if people are going to gamble online, the state wants to be the platform, not an unregulated website based overseas. By allowing official lottery apps while banning grey-market casino imitators, lawmakers aim to pull gambling into the same regulated digital economy that already governs banking, payments and now crypto assets.
The political tension lies in how far this digital expansion should go. Some Indiana legislators argue that if online lottery sales are permitted, the state’s licensed casinos should also be allowed to offer full iGaming products, such as online slots and poker. Others fear that opening the door too wide would increase addiction, particularly among younger players who already spend hours on their phones.
Public health groups have warned that mobile gambling removes many of the natural brakes that exist in physical casinos. With no cash desks, no travel and no social visibility, losses can accumulate rapidly and privately. For regulators, that risk is one reason they prefer tightly controlled state platforms over a free-for-all of private operators.
Sweepstakes companies are fighting back, arguing that an outright ban would simply push players to offshore websites that ignore age limits and anti-fraud rules altogether. Some have offered to accept regulation and taxation instead. But so far, the political mood in the US is turning sharply against platforms that operate in legal loopholes.
For Britain and Europe, the US debate is more than a curiosity. The UK Gambling Commission is already tightening enforcement against unlicensed sites, while European regulators are increasing reporting, licensing and tax requirements across the sector. What Indiana is doing now is likely to be replicated elsewhere: governments want digital gambling to look less like the Wild West and more like a supervised financial market.
The global direction of travel is clear. Online gambling is no longer being treated as a fringe activity. It is being absorbed into the regulated digital economy, where governments decide who may operate, how much they pay in tax and what protections players receive. For operators, investors and advertisers alike, the message is the same: the future of gambling will be digital — but only on terms set by the state.
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