Indiana Is First State to Ban Crypto Kiosks, Citing Their Role in Scams

Cryptocurrency machines have been used by criminals to steal millions of dollars from victims of scams. Now, with strong support from AARP, Indiana lawmakers have banned the machines from operating in the state. While more than a dozen other states have passed legislation regulating the machines, Indiana is the first to impose an all-out statewide ban on crypto kiosks.

The legislation began as an attempt to protect consumers with guardrails, such as licensing, setting daily and monthly transaction limits for users, and capping fees. It passed in the House, but then the Senate took it further. The chairman of the Senate’s insurance and financial institutions committee, Republican Sen. Scott Baldwin, said, “I can think of no legitimate reasons, no substantial legitimate reasons” to warrant the kiosks. (Indiana has nearly 900 of the machines around the state.)

The bipartisan measure passed the Senate unanimously and was signed into law by Gov. Mike Braun on March 9.

The ban in Indiana is an important victory for fraud-prevention advocates, says Ambre Marr, Indiana legislative director for AARP. “Indiana families deserve strong protections from fraud, especially as criminals adapt their tactics to new technologies,” she notes. “Indiana now has the strongest protections in the country.”

Francoise Cleveland, government affairs director at AARP, says she hopes Indiana sets a precedent: “AARP is working in every state to ensure that criminals can no longer use crypto kiosks to steal money from victims.”

A need for safeguards

The cryptocurrency kiosks, often found in grocery stores, gas stations and laundromats, look like ordinary ATMs. But unlike ATMs, crypto machines are a favorite tool of criminals, who, based on reports to the FBI, used the machines to scam people out of more $333 million in 2025 alone. (Most people don’t report fraud, so actual losses are likely far higher.)

Older people are particularly at risk of losing money to criminals through this method. A 2024 FBI report found that adults age 60 and older accounted for over 85 percent of reported fraud losses involving crypto kiosks. 

For example, Marlene Betesh, 80, of New Jersey, was targeted in a tech-support scam in which a self-described Apple representative told her that her bank accounts had been compromised — but that she could protect her money by moving it to a secure account. How? By withdrawing the cash from her bank and depositing it into a crypto kiosk inside a nearby liquor store. She lost $9,500 to the scammers — almost all she had in her checking account. (Listen to Betesh’s full story on this episode of AARP’s podcast The Perfect Scam.)

Another woman in The Villages retirement community in central Florida recently lost $25,000 in a remarkably similar scheme.

Laws to protect victims

AARP has worked to help states pass legislation increasing consumer protections at cryptocurrency machines nationwide.

While 25 states have taken some protective action, 18 of those, including Indiana, have passed comprehensive legislation to protect consumers from scams that utilize crypto kiosks. (See our map tracking how states are working to regulate crypto ATMs.)