1 Sweepstakes Casino Controversy - And Celebrities' All-important Role
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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 unlawful gaming.

No, they weren't personally in participation, however the world-famous celebrities were notably included in a slide presentation on social and sweepstakes gambling establishments - the controversial websites offering both totally free casino-style video games and rewarding rewards, such as money, present cards or cryptocurrency. In one ad, the fist-pumping Seacrest is seen plugging Chumba Casino, where anyone can 'play for complimentary,' while a crop-topped Hilton holds a chip for sweepstakes operator, Wow Vegas, in the other.
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The sites are just two cogs in the multibillion-dollar market that now discovers itself besieged by lawsuits. In the eyes of numerous gaming corporations, not to point out lawsuit complainants and state regulators, sweepstakes casinos serve as standard casinos, only without the oversight, customer securities and tax laws. So not just can they avoid the high 24-percent federal sports betting levy, but sweepstakes operators aren't based on regulative obstacles like anti-money laundering and responsible-gaming protections.

One operator, Australia-based Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), reported $4 billion in profits last year alone. Now the business faces allegations of unlawful sports betting in a New york city lawsuit that declares VGW utilizes star endorsers to 'produce a veneer of authenticity' around its product. (See VGW's statement listed below)

'I'm not sure" if you don't trust us, you can trust Paris Hilton" is a winning message for business operating multibillion-dollar prohibited 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 celebrities from gambling enthusiasts Drake and DJ Khaled to swimmer Michael Phelps, in addition to NBA stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Paul George - none of whom provide any distinctions between standard gaming and sweepstakes play.

Paris Hilton is seen plugging Wow Vegas, among numerous sweepstakes gambling establishments discovered online

Ryan Seacrest advises fans to dip into Chumba Casino, where lots of - however not all - video games are free

Drake has a deal with social sweeps casino, Stake, that he regularly promotes on social media

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Instead, advertisements generally center around the social aspect of the gambling establishments, while omitting the capacity for real gaming losses.

Others lure customers with guarantees of prizes. One such operator, Stake, ran a social media advertisement displaying Drake's vehicles, aircrafts and estates before pivoting to footage of the rapper playing online casino-style games.

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

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

The discrepancy between gambling sites and social or sweepstakes gambling establishments is a bit complicated, but operators of the latter insist they're not involved with the former.

A representative for a market trade group, the Social and Promotional Gaming Association (SPGA), described its members are not in direct competitors with online gambling establishments and sportsbooks. Furthermore, according to SPGA information, the majority of the gamers on social-sweepstakes casinos are sports betting free.

'Most social sweeps customers never buy,' the SPGA spokesperson told DailyMail.com. 'The minority of customers who make purchases do so in quantities far smaller sized than the normal deposit or bet size at real-money online sites.'

Social casinos use customers an opportunity to play casino-style games with buddies. Players have the option to buy worthless currency frequently described as 'gold coins,' which can not be exchanged genuine cash, but can be used to unlock different features within the games.

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

And therein lies the capacity for financial losses, like the ones declared by complainants in Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and New York. One player informed the Washington Post he lost more than $100,000 on sweepstakes casinos in the past year after continuing to purchase more coins in pursuit of cash and other things of worth.

The Philadelphia 76ers' Paul George is seen promoting an International Poker occasion

Social sweeps gambling establishment Stake ran an ad displaying Drake's vehicles, 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 sustain the appeal of sweepstakes gambling establishments.

Anyone over the age of 18 can access the sweepstakes sites, which do not need usually need recognition. However, sites like Chumba will request for IDs from players trying to withdraw any funds.

Many websites, like the crypto-compatible Stake, permit consumers to submit mail-in ask for free sweeps coins, provided the gamers follow painfully particular instructions. What's more, players are typically rewarded with sweeps coins simply for signing up, thus providing them a factor to attempt their hands at any number of gambling establishment video games for an opportunity to win - or lose - genuine cash.

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

According to the stakeholders, their item is the free casino-style video gaming, and the real-stakes competitors is merely a method of promoting their support.

'Social sweepstakes video games are merely a form of online entertainment,' an SPGA representative informed DailyMail.com by email. 'No purchase is needed to play at social gambling establishments with sweepstakes rewards. Consumers never have to pay for an opportunity to win prizes. That absence of a purchase requirement - or" consideration" - is a vital distinction in between social sweeps and traditional online gaming websites like gambling establishments.'

Consider the manner in which McDonald's uses its yearly Monopoly video game to promote its food: Customers aren't paying to gamble, however rather they're purchasing hamburgers and french fries that provide them the possibility to win rewarding prizes, such as a $1 million prize.

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

'Sweepstakes are an enduring technique for promoting all sort of daily businesses in the United States, whatever from burgers to magazine memberships to coffee and home enhancement shops,' the SPGA spokesperson told DailyMail.com. 'Sweepstakes promos are regularly utilized by a who's who of household names like AT&T, Chase, Home Depot, Marriott, Starbucks, and Wal-Mart.'

But to many sports betting industry insiders, that argument doesn't cut it.

For starters, gaming attorney Daniel Wallach explains, McDonald's Monopoly video game does not run indefinitely. Rather, it has a distinct beginning and end, thereby recommending the sweepstakes is not the fast-food giant's main item. Instead, the sweepstakes is being used to promote genuine products like french fries, shakes, and the Filet-O-Fish.

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

'The sweepstakes [casinos] have none of the attributes frequently connected with McDonald's-style sweepstakes promos,' Wallach continued. 'Besides running in all time, the sweepstakes casinos provide" casino-like" payments, usually 80 percent or more of profits, whereas the normal payout percentage for a temporary promotional sweepstakes is an insignificant share of the earnings made by the business [typically less than one percent]'

Wallach is fast to compare the online social sweeps casinos to the internet coffee shops that emerged in Florida, offering customers the opportunity to play casino-style video games for genuine prizes. Many of those brick-and-mortar facilities have because been shuttered over claims of illegal gaming.

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

Now, Wallach argues, social sweeps gambling establishments need to deal with similar analysis.

'These differences are not approximate,' Wallach stated of social sweeps casinos. 'They have consistently been cited by courts and state lawyer generals as crucial consider identifying that a sweepstakes promo was in reality a guise for prohibited gambling.'

One of the casino market's leading trade organizations, the American Gaming Association, is now pushing lawmakers to examine sweepstakes operators and, sometimes, enact brand-new legislation on the problem.

'Consumers are being denied of securities and states are forgoing substantial tax and earnings chances as this gaming changes that conducted through managed channels,' read a well-circulated AGA memo.

And after that there are the plaintiffs who have taken legal action against social casinos in more than a lots states.

Sweepstakes gambling establishment operators paid a combined $14.2 million in four separate cases in Kentucky without confessing any misbehavior, according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile VGW accepted pay $11.75 million in one class-action claim, saying the settlement was made to avoid legal costs and continued litigation.

Michael Phelps has actually signed a deal with the VGW Group, which owns Global Poker

In the most recent suit, which is mostly similar to its predecessors, New York state locals Lamar Prater and Rebecca Pratt both declare to have lost well over $1,000 to VGW, which is explained in the filing as an 'illegal gaming business. '

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

'We normally don't discuss matters before the courts,' a VGW spokesperson told DailyMail.com by means of email. 'However, we note that this claim has only just been filed with the court and VGW has not been formally served.

'We have complete confidence in our compliance with all laws and regulations where we run, and remain positive about the future,' the spokesperson continued. 'We continue to provide our free-to-play video games throughout most of The United States and Canada, as we have for more than a years, producing not just great games, user experiences and home entertainment, but likewise guaranteeing this is done safely, responsibly and at the highest level of standards.

'More broadly, we 'd restate that class actions and other lawsuits and arbitrations are fairly common throughout the online social video games market (and the US more broadly), and our basic practice is that we intend to intensely safeguard any claim which might be brought versus us.'

The issues between conventional online sports betting and sweepstakes casinos could show problematic for some celeb endorsers.

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

'It's ironic that professional athletes are hawking illegal sports betting 'sweeps' sites while at the very same time the leagues wish to forecast a strong stance against prohibited gambling - especially when trying to tamp down the periodic sports betting scandal,' Glaser told DailyMail.com.

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

In addition to VGW, Apple and Google are being demanded hosting apparently prohibited sports betting websites

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

'I 'd anticipate that a league crackdown on athletes endorsing sweepstakes sites is a matter of when, not if,' Glaser added.

Neither an NBA spokesman nor the gamers' representatives responded to DailyMail.com's requests for comment. For that matter, spokespeople for Drake, DJ Khaled, Hilton, Seacrest and Phelps also ignored to react to DailyMail.com e-mails.

Asked if their star endorsers have an obligation to describe to customers the distinctions and similarities between iGaming and sweepstakes gambling establishments, VGW firmly insisted there is absolutely nothing more that needs to be done.

'We have full self-confidence in our influencer and ambassadorial partnerships, and our business practices more broadly,' the representative said. 'Some of our worths are" our players precede" and" we do what's right", and we put our values at the core of whatever we do.'

Glaser, an outspoken opponent of sweepstakes sites, sees things in a different way.
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'Celebrities who provide their names to dubious illegal gambling sites are, at a minimum, putting their reputations at danger as well as courting civil and class actions by consumers who declare damage,' Glaser said. 'There is likewise some threat that state regulators and state attorneys general rope celeb endorsers into enforcement efforts for assisting in unlawful gaming.'

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