Montana Just Outlawed Something It Couldn’t Even Define

WASHINGTON D.C. (MAY 23, 2025) — The Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) strongly condemns the enactment of Senate Bill 555, which makes Montana the first state to ban online sweepstakes-style games, without even using the word sweepstakes.

This vague and sweeping law reclassifies legitimate, free-to-play promotional games as “internet gambling,” ignoring the clear legal and operational distinctions between sweepstakes platforms and real-money online casinos. Under SB 555, even platforms with no purchase required and robust consumer safeguards could now face criminal penalties.

“Montana just criminalized everyday digital promotions with a law so broadly written it fails to name what it bans,” said a spokesperson for SPGA. “It’s a dangerous precedent that could undermine consumer trust, business innovation, and long-standing legal marketing practices.”

Take Microsoft Rewards, for example. An active national program where users earn points for using Microsoft products and can redeem those points to enter sweepstakes for prizes, including a current $2,000,000 giveaway. No purchase is necessary to participate, but points can also be redeemed to increase one’s number of entries. Under SB 555’s vague definitions, such mechanics could be construed as “gambling” involving digital currency, even though they’ve long been considered lawful promotions. These legally sound and widely accepted programs could now be considered criminal activity in Montana.

Montana’s lawmakers have taken a reckless step, ignoring the economic and consumer consequences, and diverging from states like Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, and Florida, which have all rejected similar bans in 2025.

The SPGA urges lawmakers nationwide to reject vague prohibition and instead protect consumer choice through smart, modern frameworks, if action is even needed at all.