1 Sweepstakes Casino Controversy - And Celebrities' All-important Role
jonathanbarlee edited this page 2024-12-31 09:58:51 +08:00

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The smiling faces of Paris Hilton and Ryan Seacrest made surprise appearances before the Louisiana Senate for Friday's hearing on illegal sports betting.

No, they weren't personally in attendance, however the world-famous celebs were notably included in a slide discussion on social and sweepstakes casinos - the questionable websites using both free casino-style games and lucrative rewards, such as cash, gift cards or cryptocurrency. In one ad, the fist-pumping Seacrest is seen plugging Chumba Casino, where anybody can 'play for totally free,' while a crop-topped Hilton holds a chip for sweepstakes operator, Wow Vegas, in the other.
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The websites are simply two cogs in the multibillion-dollar market that now discovers itself besieged by lawsuits. In the eyes of numerous video gaming corporations, not to point out suit complainants and state regulators, sweepstakes gambling establishments function as conventional gambling establishments, just without the oversight, consumer protections and tax laws. So not just can they prevent the steep 24-percent federal gaming levy, but sweepstakes operators aren't based on regulative difficulties like anti-money laundering and responsible-gaming securities.

One operator, Australia-based Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), reported $4 billion in earnings last year alone. Now the business faces allegations of prohibited gaming in a New york city lawsuit that declares VGW uses celebrity endorsers to 'produce a veneer of authenticity' around its item. (See VGW's declaration below)

'I'm unsure" if you don't trust us, you can trust Paris Hilton" is a winning message for companies running multibillion-dollar illegal operations out of places like Malta, Isle of Man, or US mail drops,' Friday's presenter, Howard Glaser of video gaming corporation Light & Wonder, informed DailyMail.com.

Sweepstakes endorsers include a variety of celebs from sports betting lovers Drake and DJ Khaled to swimmer Michael Phelps, as well as NBA stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Paul George - none of whom provide any distinctions in between standard gambling and sweepstakes play.

Paris Hilton is seen plugging Wow Vegas, one of lots of sweepstakes casinos discovered online

Ryan Seacrest prompts fans to play at Chumba Casino, where many - but not all - games are complimentary

Drake has a handle social sweeps casino, Stake, that he frequently touts on social networks

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Instead, ads normally focus around the social element of the casinos, while leaving out the potential for real gaming losses.

Others lure consumers with promises of prizes. One such operator, Stake, ran a social media advertisement flaunting Drake's cars and trucks, planes and estates before pivoting to video footage of the rapper playing online casino-style video games.

'Daddy, why do we have so much money?' check out the first caption on the screen.

Another caption described: 'Because I never ever offered up.'

The disparity in between sports betting sites and social or sweepstakes gambling establishments is a bit intricate, but operators of the latter insist they're not included with the former.

A representative for a market trade group, the Social and Promotional Gaming Association (SPGA), explained its members are not in direct competition with online casinos and sportsbooks. Furthermore, according to SPGA data, many of the players on social-sweepstakes casinos are playing for totally free.

'Most social sweeps customers never ever purchase,' the SPGA representative told DailyMail.com. 'The minority of customers who make purchases do so in quantities far smaller sized than the common deposit or bet size at real-money online gaming websites.'

Social gambling establishments provide clients a chance to play casino-style games with buddies. Players have the alternative to buy worthless currency often referred to as 'gold coins,' which can not be exchanged for genuine cash, however can be used to unlock various features within the video games.

But within the world of social casinos exists sweepstakes gaming, permitting customers to acquire other currency called 'sweeps coins' that can be exchanged for cash or other rewards.

And therein lies the capacity for financial losses, like the ones declared by complainants in Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and New York City. One gamer told the Washington Post he lost more than $100,000 on sweepstakes gambling establishments in the previous year after continuing to buy more coins in pursuit of money and other things of value.

The Philadelphia 76ers' Paul George is seen promoting a Global Poker event

Social sweeps gambling establishment Stake ran an ad showing off Drake's automobiles, planes and estates

Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks is another NBA star plugging VGW's Global Poker

Traditional online gambling establishments are banned in all however 7 states, which has actually assisted to fuel the appeal of sweepstakes casinos.

Anyone over the age of 18 can access the sweepstakes sites, which don't need typically need recognition. However, websites like Chumba will request for IDs from gamers attempting to withdraw any funds.

Many sites, like the crypto-compatible Stake, permit clients to submit mail-in requests for free sweeps coins, provided the gamers follow painfully specific guidelines. What's more, gamers are typically rewarded with sweeps coins just for signing up, consequently providing a factor to try their hands at any number of casino video games for a chance to win - or lose - genuine cash.

So why are sweepstakes websites enabled to run in 48 states, while online casinos are banned in all but 7?

According to the stakeholders, their item is the totally free casino-style gaming, and the real-stakes competitors is simply a way of promoting their bread and butter.

'Social sweepstakes games are merely a type of online entertainment,' an SPGA representative told DailyMail.com by e-mail. 'No purchase is required to play at social gambling establishments with sweepstakes prizes. Consumers never have to pay for a chance to win prizes. That absence of a purchase requirement - or" factor to consider" - is a vital distinction in between social sweeps and conventional online sports betting sites like gambling establishments.'

Think about the way that McDonald's uses its annual Monopoly game to promote its food: Customers aren't paying to gamble, but rather they're buying hamburgers and fries that provide them the possibility to win financially rewarding rewards, such as a $1 million prize.

And without a purchase requirement, or 'factor to consider', the game itself doesn't satisfy the meaning of gambling in the US.

'Sweepstakes are an enduring approach for promoting all sort of everyday services in the United States, everything from hamburgers to publication subscriptions to coffee and home enhancement shops,' the SPGA spokesperson informed DailyMail.com. 'Sweepstakes promotions are regularly utilized by a who's who of home names like AT&T, Chase, Home Depot, Marriott, Starbucks, and Wal-Mart.'

But to lots of gambling industry insiders, that argument does not cut it.
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For starters, gaming attorney Daniel Wallach explains, McDonald's Monopoly video game doesn't run indefinitely. Rather, it has a distinct start and end, consequently recommending the sweepstakes is not the fast-food giant's primary item. Instead, the sweepstakes is being used to promote real products like fries, shakes, and the Filet-O-Fish.

'They do not last permanently and they're generally not tied to casino-style games of possibility,' Wallach informed DailyMail.com. 'They're just money giveaways.

'The sweepstakes [casinos] possess none of the characteristics commonly related to McDonald's-style sweepstakes promos,' Wallach continued. 'Besides running in perpetuity, the sweepstakes casinos provide" casino-like" payouts, normally 80 percent or more of earnings, whereas the normal payment percentage for a temporary promotional sweepstakes is a trivial share of the revenue made by the company [generally less than one percent]'

Wallach is fast to liken the online social sweeps casinos to the internet cafes that emerged in Florida, using customers the opportunity to play casino-style video games for real prizes. A number of those brick-and-mortar facilities have because been shuttered over accusations of illegal gaming.

DJ Khaled is among numerous star spokespeople for VGW's Global Poker brand name

Now, Wallach argues, social sweeps casinos ought to face comparable examination.

'These distinctions are not arbitrary,' Wallach said of social sweeps casinos. 'They have consistently been mentioned by courts and state attorney general of the United States as essential elements in figuring out that a sweepstakes promotion was in fact a guise for illegal sports betting.'

One of the gambling establishment industry's leading trade companies, the American Gaming Association, is now pressing legislators to examine sweepstakes operators and, in some cases, enact brand-new legislation on the problem.

'Consumers are being denied of defenses and states are forgoing substantial tax and income opportunities as this gaming replaces that carried out through controlled channels,' checked out a well-circulated AGA memo.

And after that there are the complainants who have taken legal action against social gambling establishments in more than a dozen states.

Sweepstakes casino operators paid a combined $14.2 million in 4 different cases in Kentucky without confessing any misdeed, according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile VGW accepted pay $11.75 million in one class-action lawsuit, saying the settlement was made to prevent legal expenses and continued lawsuits.

Phelps has signed a handle the VGW Group, which owns Global Poker

In the most recent suit, which is largely similar to its predecessors, New York state homeowners Lamar Prater and Rebecca Pratt both claim to have actually lost well over $1,000 to VGW, which is described in the filing as an 'unlawful gambling business. '

Apple and Google have likewise been called as offenders in claims for hosting the sweepstakes sites. But unlike VGW, neither tech business reacted to DailyMail.com's demand for comment.

'We normally don't talk about matters before the courts,' a VGW spokesperson informed DailyMail.com via email. 'However, we keep in mind that this claim has only just been filed with the court and VGW has not been formally served.

'We have full confidence in our compliance with all laws and guidelines where we run, and remain positive about the future,' the representative continued. 'We continue to use our free-to-play games throughout the majority of The United States and Canada, as we have for more than a years, developing not just excellent games, user experiences and entertainment, but also ensuring this is done securely, responsibly and at the greatest level of standards.

'More broadly, we 'd repeat that class actions and other litigations and arbitrations are reasonably typical across the online social games market (and the US more broadly), and our standard practice is that we intend to intensely safeguard any claim which might be brought versus us.'

The issues in between traditional online gaming and sweepstakes casinos might prove bothersome for some celebrity endorsers.

Towns, a star center with the Knicks, and the 76ers' George both endorse VGW's Global Poker brand name while the NBA is partnered with conventional video gaming titans like FanDuel and DraftKings.

'It's paradoxical that professional athletes are hawking prohibited sports betting wagering 'sweeps' sites while at the same time the leagues want to project a strong position against illegal sports betting - particularly when attempting to tamp down the periodic gaming scandal,' Glaser told DailyMail.com.

It was simply eight months ago that Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter got a life time restriction from the NBA over claims he conspired with gamblers. However, to be clear, Porter's scandal is unassociated to anything including social or sweepstakes gambling establishments.

In addition to VGW, Apple and Google are being demanded hosting apparently illegal sports betting sites

Regardless, Glaser sees sweepstakes gambling establishments as a major issue for leagues such as the NBA.

'I 'd anticipate that a league crackdown on athletes backing sweepstakes websites refers when, not if,' Glaser added.

Neither an NBA spokesperson nor the players' representatives reacted to DailyMail.com's demands for remark. For that matter, spokespeople for Drake, DJ Khaled, Hilton, Seacrest and Phelps likewise disregarded to react to DailyMail.com emails.

Asked if their celebrity endorsers have a responsibility to describe to consumers the distinctions and similarities between iGaming and sweepstakes casinos, VGW insisted there is nothing more that needs to be done.

'We have full confidence in our influencer and ambassadorial collaborations, and our company practices more broadly,' the representative stated. 'A few of our values are" our players precede" and" we do what's right", and we put our worths at the core of whatever we do.'

Glaser, an outspoken challenger of sweepstakes sites, sees things in a different way.
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'Celebrities who provide their names to shady prohibited gaming websites are, at a minimum, putting their reputations at danger as well as courting civil and class actions by consumers who declare damage,' Glaser stated. 'There is also some danger that state regulators and state lawyers basic rope celeb endorsers into enforcement efforts for facilitating illegal sports betting.'

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