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State database · CT · verified 2026-10-03

Sweepstakes laws in Connecticut

Since October 1, 2025, Public Act 25-112 bars unlicensed sweepstakes that facilitate real or simulated online casino gaming; the consumer protection agency settled with High 5 Games in 2025.

Disclosure: this site's publisher, Luck Incorporated LLC, operates Chance Infinite, one of the apps in these databases. Its entry is built from its own documents under the same rules as every other entry. This is reference information, not legal advice; official rules and statutes control.

Last verified October 3, 2026. On October 16, 2026 an automated check re-opened 15 of its 16 sources and found no change. Every line below cites a document; numbers in brackets point to the source list.

Status
Law in force
Sweepstakes-casino law
SB 1235 (Public Act 25-112), section 14, effective October 1, 2025
Enforcement actions on record
4
Ranked free apps open to residents
5 of 6
Sweepstakes-casino brands and Connecticut
16 exclude it, 2 limit it, of 18 tracked

The law

SB 1235 (Public Act 25-112), section 14

Cited as Conn. Gen. Stat. section 42-301 (as amended by P.A. 25-112, section 14); enacted June 24, 2025 (signed by the governor); effective October 1, 2025. [S1]

Adds a third category to the existing ban on certain sweepstakes and promotional drawings: no person may conduct or promote one that allows or facilitates participation in real or simulated online casino gaming or sports wagering unless the person is licensed under chapter 229b (the state's online gaming licensing chapter). A violation carries the penalty for professional gambling under section 53-278b(b), and a violation of subsection (a) is also deemed an unfair or deceptive trade practice under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act. The section keeps the earlier bans on sweepstakes unrelated to a bona fide sale and on simulated gambling devices, and the retail grocery exception. The amended section appears in the 2026 Supplement to the General Statutes (S4).

“allows or facilitates participation in any real or simulated online casino gaming or sports wagering, unless such person is licensed under chapter 229b”

Bills

  • SB 1235 (2025 session): enacted as Public Act 25-112 (signed by the governor), June 24, 2025. [S2]
    What the bill does

    Titled as the Department of Consumer Protection's recommendations on lottery and gaming regulation and introduced by the General Law Committee. Passed the Senate as amended by Senate Amendment Schedule A on May 22, 2025 and the House on June 3, 2025; signed June 24, 2025. Section 14 (sweepstakes) is effective October 1, 2025.

Enforcement

  • 2024-02-xx, Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection: cease-and-desist letter against VGW. Status: issued. [S10]
    What the record says

    Trade press (NEXT.io, October 2, 2024, S10) reported that a letter dated February 2024 ordered VGW to stop offering its games and services to Connecticut customers and alleged that promoting unlicensed gambling was an unfair trade practice. Legal Sports Report (S9) wrote on October 4, 2024 that a DCP spokesperson confirmed VGW had stopped allowing purchases in Connecticut, and quoted VGW as saying it disagreed with the department's position. We did not find the letter itself on the department's site.

  • March 14, 2025, Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, Gaming Division: summary suspension order against High 5 Games (licensed Online Gaming Service Provider, license OGSP.000045), regarding the High 5 Casino platform. Status: settled. [S7]
    What the record says

    The order states that High 5 Casino offered casino gaming to Connecticut patrons without a Connecticut license, that investigators could still open an account and make purchases from Connecticut after the platform announced its February 18, 2025 departure, and that the division's criminal investigators began pursuing approximately 1,100 counts against High 5 Games leadership under section 53-278b(b). It summarily suspended the company's service provider license.

  • May 29, 2025, Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, Gaming Division: settlement against High5Games. Status: settled. [S8]
    What the record says

    The department announced that High5Games ceased operating its online casino in Connecticut and agreed to pay nearly $1.5 million, including more than $643,000 in restitution to consumers who lost money to High5Casino; its license was reinstated effective May 22. The release quotes the Gaming Division Director describing the platform as “an unlicensed sweepstakes casino”.

  • June 30, 2025, Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, Gaming Division: cease-and-desist orders (count reported for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025) against unlicensed online platforms operating sweepstakes casinos (not named in the report). Status: issued. [S16]
    What the record says

    The department's Digest Report 2025, covering fiscal year 2024-2025 (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025), says a significant number of the Gaming Division's investigations “involve the issuance of over 70 Cease & Desist orders against unlicensed online platforms who are operating Sweepstakes Casinos” and that in one of these investigations “the operator made restitution to the patrons in the amount of $930,000.” The report does not name the platforms or the operator, or date the individual orders; the date shown here is the end of the fiscal year it covers. We have not matched the $930,000 figure to any named case.

Rules for any sweepstakes in Connecticut

  • Advertising disclosures (Conn. Gen. Stat. sections 42-297 and 42-300): [S6]
    What the rule requires

    A person advertising a sweepstakes in Connecticut must disclose, next to each prize description and in at least the same size type, the verifiable retail value of the prize, the odds of winning (or a statement that odds depend on the number of entries), and whether receipt of the prize is restricted. Violations of sections 42-295 to 42-299 are deemed unfair or deceptive trade practices (section 42-300).

  • No-purchase promotional drawings (Conn. Gen. Stat. section 53-278g(a)): [S5]
    What the rule requires

    Sections 53-278a to 53-278f (the gambling offenses) do not prohibit a promotional drawing conducted for advertising purposes (other than by a retail grocer or grocery chain) in which members of the public may take part “without making any purchase or otherwise paying or risking credit, money, or any other tangible thing of value”, or a sweepstakes conducted under sections 42-295 to 42-301.

Free sweepstakes apps open to Connecticut residents

Our ranked apps, by what each one's own official rules say about Connecticut. Chance Infinite is operated by this site's publisher.

AppOur rankConnecticut
Chance Infinite1, 81/100Open
Coinnect2, 71/100Excluded
Prizes by GAMEE3 (tied), 54/100Open
Winsome Rewards3 (tied), 54/100Open
PCH+5, 51/100Open (app listed unavailable)
PCH Lotto6, 48/100Open (app listed unavailable)

Sweepstakes casinos and Connecticut

What the 18 sweepstakes-casino brands in our database say about Connecticut in their own documents. These lists give no grade; some of these brands pay SweepstakeReport a commission through the links on their fact sheets. We do not judge whether any brand may operate in Connecticut, and documents change often.

190 casinos' terms exclude Connecticut: see which.

Regulator

Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, Gaming Division

Notes

Read the 5 research notes
  • Penalty level: section 42-301(e) points to the professional gambling penalty in section 53-278b(b), which reads “Any person who engages in professional gambling shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.” (S5). The Office of Legislative Research summary of P.A. 25-112 says “As under existing law, a violation of these provisions is also a class A misdemeanor” (S3). The 2026 Supplement to chapter 946, which is used with the General Statutes revised to January 1, 2025, lists only section 53-344b, so it shows no 2025 change to section 53-278b (S15).
  • The bill status page for SB 1235 carries a statement of purpose that lists a provision “that any person who engages in professional gambling shall be guilty of a class D felony” (S2). We did not find that provision in the text of Public Act 25-112 as signed (S1). Read together, the enacted text, the unchanged section 53-278b and the OLR summary point to the class A misdemeanor penalty, not a felony.
  • Timeline check: our crackdown timeline gives June 12, 2025 as the signing date. The bill history records “Signed by the Governor” on June 24, 2025, and the Public Act text ends “Approved June 24, 2025” (S1, S2). The Public Act number 25-112 was assigned on June 11, 2025 (S2). The October 1, 2025 effective date in the timeline agrees with section 14.
  • Timeline check: the timeline summarises the law as making illegal gambling a Class D felony. See the penalty note above: the enacted text and the OLR summary indicate a class A misdemeanor for professional gambling, plus treatment as an unfair trade practice.
  • 2026 session: the two gaming acts signed in 2026 that we opened, HB 5229 (Public Act 26-53, signed May 19, 2026) and SB 296 (Public Act 26-82, signed May 26, 2026), contain no reference to sweepstakes (S11, S12, S13, S14).

What we could not establish

  • We could not run a keyword search of all 2025 and 2026 Connecticut bills: the General Assembly's full-text search (search.cga.state.ct.us) is a frame and script interface that did not return results to a direct request, and LegiScan returned a browser challenge. 2026 coverage is limited to the gaming acts named in notes; a 2026 sweepstakes bill that did not pass could be missing.
  • The February 2024 VGW letter is known to us only through trade press (S9, S10); we did not find it on the department's site.
  • The Department of Consumer Protection news listings for 2024 to 2026 are paginated; we read the first page of each year and the two High 5 documents. The department's Digest Report 2025 counts over 70 cease-and-desist orders to sweepstakes casino platforms in fiscal year 2024-2025 without naming them (S16); we did not locate the individual orders on the department's site on October 3, 2026, and other actions may exist that we did not find.

Common questions

Does Connecticut have a law on online sweepstakes casinos?

Yes. SB 1235 (Public Act 25-112), section 14, cited as Conn. Gen. Stat. section 42-301 (as amended by P.A. 25-112, section 14), took effect October 1, 2025. This page quotes the text and links the statute.

Which ranked free sweepstakes apps accept Connecticut residents?

Per their own official rules, Chance Infinite, Prizes by GAMEE, Winsome Rewards, PCH+ and PCH Lotto accept residents of Connecticut, and Coinnect excludes it. Chance Infinite is operated by the publisher of this site.

Do sweepstakes casinos accept players in Connecticut?

Of the 18 sweepstakes casino brands in our database, 16 exclude Connecticut and 2 limit it in their own documents, last verified October 3, 2026. Documents change often, so read the current terms first.

Sources

  1. S1 Connecticut General Assembly, Substitute Senate Bill No. 1235, Public Act No. 25-112, An Act Concerning the Department of Consumer Protection's Recommendations Regarding Lottery and Gaming Regulation, retrieved October 3, 2026
  2. S2 Connecticut General Assembly, Bill Status, Substitute for Raised S.B. No. 1235, Session Year 2025, retrieved October 3, 2026
  3. S3 Connecticut General Assembly, Office of Legislative Research, OLR Public Act Summary, PA 25-112, retrieved October 3, 2026
  4. S4 Connecticut General Assembly, General Statutes of Connecticut, 2026 Supplement, Chapter 743n, section 42-301, retrieved October 3, 2026
  5. S5 Connecticut General Assembly, General Statutes of Connecticut, Chapter 946, Offenses Against Public Policy (sections 53-278b, 53-278g), retrieved October 3, 2026
  6. S6 Connecticut General Assembly, General Statutes of Connecticut, Chapter 743n (sections 42-295 to 42-301), retrieved October 3, 2026
  7. S7 Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, In the Matter of High 5 Games, License No. OGSP.000045, Summary Suspension Order, March 14, 2025, retrieved October 3, 2026
  8. S8 Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, Department of Consumer Protection Announces Settlement with High5Games over Operation of Illegal Online Casino (May 29, 2025), retrieved October 3, 2026
  9. S9 Legal Sports Report, Sweepstakes Operator VGW Exits CT Online Gaming Market (October 4, 2024) (secondary reporting), retrieved October 3, 2026
  10. S10 NEXT.io, Sweepstakes operator VGW exits Connecticut after cease-and-desist (October 2, 2024) (secondary reporting), retrieved October 3, 2026
  11. S11 Connecticut General Assembly, Bill Status, H.B. No. 5229, Session Year 2026, An Act Concerning Gaming, retrieved October 3, 2026
  12. S12 Connecticut General Assembly, Public Act No. 26-53 (HB 5229), retrieved October 3, 2026
  13. S13 Connecticut General Assembly, Bill Status, S.B. No. 296, Session Year 2026, retrieved October 3, 2026
  14. S14 Connecticut General Assembly, Public Act No. 26-82 (SB 296), retrieved October 3, 2026
  15. S15 Connecticut General Assembly, General Statutes of Connecticut, 2026 Supplement, Chapter 946, retrieved October 3, 2026
  16. S16 Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (hosted on the Department of Administrative Services site), Digest Report 2025, Department of Consumer Protection (fiscal year 2024-2025), retrieved October 3, 2026

Related: All 50 states and DC · The crackdown timeline · The app database