Indiana legislators are talking about possibly banning one form of internet gambling while also giving the Hoosier Lottery permission to sell tickets online.
The House Public Policy Committee endorsed a bill on Tuesday allowing online lottery sales, a move sought for years by state lottery officials as a way to boost revenues.
Another proposal under discussion by the committee would prohibit so-called online “sweepstakes” games where players can win money from simulated casino games.
Illinois, Kentucky and Michigan are among 18 states currently with online lottery sales, said Jared Bond, the Hoosier Lottery’s external affairs director.
“When the Hoosier Lottery was created in 1989 … there was really only one way to buy a lottery ticket,” Bond said. “You walked into a retailer with cash, but today Hoosiers utilize their mobile devices for all kinds of different things, like banking and to shop.”
Online lottery sales likely wouldn’t start until the summer of 2027 as lottery officials hire the needed vendors and set up measures to confirm app users are at least 18 years and are within the state lines when making purchases.
Committee members voted 9-3 to advance House Bill 1078 to the full House for consideration, as some members objected to the bill not including provisions allowing the state’s casinos to offer online games.
The committee last year endorsed a bill for both online lottery and casino games, but it didn’t reach the full House for a vote amid concerns that internet gambling would draw business away from physical casinos and risk greater gambling addiction.
“I strongly feel that i-gaming and i-lottery should be hand in hand, and we’re picking winners and losers,” said Rep. Cory Criswell, R-Middletown. “I don’t think that’s the way it should work.”
An analysis prepared by the Legislative Services Agency projects that online sales would boost the Hoosier Lottery’s revenues by between $314 million and $629 million in the third year. That would increase the lottery’s annual profits — $340 million for fiscal year 2025 — by between $31 million and $94 million in the third year.
The lottery’s sales have been flat at around $1.7 billion for the past five years.
Lisa Hutcheson, the vice president for prevention and policy at Mental Health America of Indiana, warned committee members about rising gambling addiction among young men with the proliferation of sports wagering.
Hutcheson said online gambling such as i-lottery “removes many of the physical safeguards that exist in brick-and-mortar facilities.”
“Online gambling heightens those risks through constant access, targeted advertising, secrecy and the perception of quick financial gain,” she said.
If given approval for online sales, the Hoosier Lottery could sell tickets for instant games and jackpot drawings such as Powerball and MegaMillions via the internet and host online instant games on its website.
A separate proposal under discussion would prohibit any online “sweepstakes” game that “simulates casino-style gaming, including slot machines, video poker, table games, lottery games, bingo, and sports wagering.”
Such games are not specifically covered by Indiana law, so the state Gaming Commission doesn’t have authority to set rules or monitor them, said Natalie Huffman, the commission’s general counsel.
Other than sports wagering, Indiana’s 13 state-regulated casinos are not allowed to offer online gambling.
The sweepstakes games, however, have gained an estimated 200,000 players in Indiana, said Sean Ostrow of the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance, an industry lobbying group.
Rep. Ethan Manning, chair of the Public Policy Committee, said he supported legalizing i-gaming by the casinos but is sponsoring House Bill 1052 that includes the ban on sweepstakes games.
“People are going to sweeps because that’s what’s available right now, even though it’s a black or gray market, depending on your perspective,” said Manning, R-Logansport. “But if i-gaming were legal here … there wouldn’t be much market for the sweeps casinos.”
Huffman said eight states had banned such games and that Indiana was among nine states currently considering doing so.
Representatives of companies providing sweepstakes games told the committee that no states were regulating the games so far.
They said they were open to discussions about state oversight and taxation, arguing that a ban would push out responsible companies that try to ensure only those older than 21 play the games and work to prevent fraud and money laundering activities.
“If this bill passes and legitimate companies like us are forced to exit, consumer demand will still remain and our players will simply drift to those offshore sites that have no compunction about operating illegally, allowing minors to participate and not paying out legitimate prizes,” said Dan Marks, chief financial office of Miami-based ARB Interactive.
The committee did not vote on the bill Tuesday, with Manning saying he expected to bring it back for further action in the next couple of weeks.
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