Despite their supporters’ imagined loopholes and multiple “currencies,” sweepstakes games are not regulated, you likely don’t know the house edge, cannot guarantee the games’ veracity from potentially other countries, could be used by children, and do not generate a single dime in taxpayer revenue. No matter what any ad on social media infers, “available in all states” does not mean “legal in all states.”

There are lawsuits in other states trying to stop sweepstakes. They are such a threat that federally recognized tribes in California, who won a bitter and expensive campaign against sportsbooks trying to legalize sports betting, that the two sides are joining forces to fight sweepstakes. As the saying goes, “War is war, but business is business.” Yet I’d argue that legalizing only gets rid of half of the illicit market. Stores that have these machines, or other “grey machines,” should not be allowed to sell lottery tickets, and that’s just for starters. There are ways to fight back, if lawmakers stop ignoring the issue of illicit gaming and are willing to step on toes.

I suggest legalizing iGaming should not have the spigots wide open. The best way to legalize is to establish hard daily, weekly and monthly limits. The North Carolina Education Lottery’s digital instants have limits of $505 a day, $2,000 a week and $5,000 a month.

My proposal is simple on how permits are issued:

$500/$1,000/$2,000 limits for land-based casinos (tribal and commercial)$250/$500/$1,000 for sportsbooks, betting exchanges and horse betting books$100/$200/$400 for independent low stakes operators