Montana Online Gambling Ban Begins, Unregulated Operators Face Felony Charges
Posted on: October 8, 2025, 07:35h.
Last updated on: October 8, 2025, 09:50h.
- All forms of online gambling in Montana are illegal
- The state’s law includes sweepstakes casinos and prediction markets
Any person or business operating an unregulated, unlicensed online gambling platform in Montana is now subject to felony charges after Senate Bill 555 went into effect.
Passed by the Montana Legislature in April and signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) the following month, SB555 bans all forms of internet gambling, including online casinos and sports betting.
The statute expands the definition of internet gambling to include “online casinos, by whatever name known, which constitute internet gambling and therefore are prohibited. This includes but is not limited to any platform, website, or application that knowingly transmits or receives gambling information, allows consumers to place a bet or wager using any form of currency, and makes payouts of any form of currency.”
SB555 became effective last Wednesday, October 1.
Montana is home to tribal casinos with electronic gaming machines. Sports betting is controlled by the Montana Lottery, with its retailers able to take bets. Sports Bet Montana, the only legal online sportsbook app that’s powered by the Montana Lottery, allows users to manage their accounts remotely and create bet slips, but the bets must be completed in person.
A report in April from online personal finance website WalletHub ranked Montana as the third most gambling-addicted state, with 2.5% of residents having a gambling disorder.
Sweepstakes, Prediction Markets in Focus
Montana’s anti-online gambling law is to protect the public from what lawmakers believe are dangerous gambling websites and apps that provide no consumer safeguards, such as guarantees that winning bets will be paid, games are programmed to actually pay out, and account withdrawals will be executed.
Only seven states regulate online casino gambling, but the recent emergence of sweepstakes casinos has caused nationwide concern.
Sweeps casinos allow users to play online casino games for free. The platforms bill themselves as social games. However, the platforms allow players to purchase a secondary digital currency, often called sweeps coins, that can be gambled with, too.
Sweeps coins can be redeemed for cash. Sweeps operators say their operations are similar to other online sweepstakes operations, for instance, CVS allowing a rewards customer to spin a wheel to receive a discount on their next purchase.
Of course, CVS isn’t selling coins that can be used to play online slots and table games. Most legal experts, state attorneys general, and state lawmakers believe social sweepstakes casinos are cleverly thought-out products to circumvent laws prohibiting online gambling.
Another fear across the country is so-called prediction markets and wagering exchanges. These websites facilitate users trading shares of possible outcomes. They began by offering event contracts on politics and cultural happenings, but recently emerged into sports betting.
Operators Violate Law
Kalshi is the most prominent online wagering exchange and prediction platform in the US. The company continues to allow its platform to be accessed in Montana despite the state’s ban on all forms of internet gambling.
The threat of felony charges hasn’t scared away Kalshi.
We’re not necessarily concerned because we’re regulated at the federal level,” Kalshi cofounder and CEO Tarek Mansour said in April about states issuing cease-and-desist orders against the platform and passing laws specifically banning its operation. “The state law doesn’t really apply.”
Montana’s statute allows for a person who “purposely or knowingly” violates the online gambling statute to be punished by a $50K fine and 10 years in prison.
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