Montana's expanded internet-gambling definition took effect October 1, 2025, with a narrow exception for casinos allowing no currency of any kind.
Montana's SB 555 took effect on October 1, 2025, according to the Legislature's official effective-date table. The measure became Chapter 626 of the 2025 laws.
The amended Montana Code definition expressly classifies online casinos as prohibited internet gambling. It specifically includes platforms that knowingly transmit or receive gambling information, accept wagers in any form of currency and make payouts in any form of currency. That example does not limit the broader online-casino provision.
The same provision permits online casinos that allow no currency of any kind. On its face, the exception's currency restriction reaches beyond cash, a significant distinction for services built around virtual currencies.
SB 555 also revised the state's criminal-penalty provisions. The chaptered act specifically addresses purposeful or knowing operation of an illegal internet-gambling site within Montana, making the change consequential for operators as well as for the games available to players.