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.
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No, they weren't personally in attendance, however the world-famous stars were conspicuously included in a slide presentation on social and sweepstakes gambling establishments - the questionable sites offering both totally free casino-style video games and financially rewarding prizes, such as money, gift cards or cryptocurrency. In one advertisement, the fist-pumping Seacrest is seen plugging Chumba Casino, where anybody can 'bet free,' while a crop-topped Hilton holds a chip for sweepstakes operator, Wow Vegas, in the other.
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The sites are simply two cogs in the multibillion-dollar market that now discovers itself besieged by lawsuits. In the eyes of many video gaming corporations, not to point out lawsuit plaintiffs and state regulators, sweepstakes gambling establishments act as conventional gambling establishments, just without the oversight, consumer securities and tax laws. So not just can they prevent the high 24-percent federal gaming levy, however sweepstakes operators aren't based on regulative hurdles like anti-money laundering and responsible-gaming defenses.

One operator, Australia-based Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), reported $4 billion in revenue in 2015 alone. Now the company deals with accusations of unlawful gaming in a New York suit that declares VGW uses celebrity endorsers to 'create a veneer of legitimacy' around its product. (See VGW's declaration listed below)

'I'm uncertain" if you do not trust us, you can rely on Paris Hilton" is a winning message for business operating multibillion-dollar illegal operations out of locations like Malta, Isle of Man, or US mail drops,' Friday's speaker, Howard Glaser of gaming corporation Light & Wonder, informed DailyMail.com.

Sweepstakes endorsers include a series of celebrities from sports betting lovers Drake and DJ Khaled to swimmer Michael Phelps, along with NBA stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Paul George - none of whom use any distinctions in between traditional gaming and sweepstakes play.

Paris Hilton is seen plugging Wow Vegas, among many sweepstakes casinos discovered online

Ryan Seacrest prompts fans to dip into Chumba Casino, where many - but not all - games are totally free

Drake has a handle social sweeps gambling establishment, Stake, that he routinely promotes on social media

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Instead, advertisements normally center around the social element of the gambling establishments, while leaving out the capacity for real gambling losses.

Others tempt consumers with guarantees of rewards. One such operator, Stake, ran a social media ad flaunting Drake's automobiles, planes and estates before rotating to video of the rap artist playing online casino-style video games.

'Daddy, why do we have a lot cash?' read the first caption on the screen.

Another caption discussed: 'Because I never ever quit.'

The discrepancy in between sports betting websites and social or sweepstakes gambling establishments is a bit complicated, however operators of the latter insist they're not included with the previous.

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

'Most social sweeps customers never make a purchase,' the SPGA spokesperson informed 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 gambling websites.'

Social casinos provide consumers a possibility to play casino-style video games with friends. Players have the choice to buy worthless currency frequently described as 'gold coins,' which can not be exchanged for real money, however can be utilized to open different features within the video games.

But within the world of social gambling establishments exists sweepstakes gaming, permitting clients to acquire other currency understood as 'sweeps coins' that can be exchanged for money or other rewards.

And therein lies the capacity for monetary losses, like the ones claimed by plaintiffs in Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and New York. One player told the Washington Post he lost more than $100,000 on sweepstakes casinos in the previous year after continuing to buy more coins in pursuit of cash and other things of value.

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

Social sweeps casino Stake ran an advertisement flaunting Drake's cars, planes and estates

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

Traditional online casinos are prohibited in all but seven states, which has actually helped to sustain the appeal of sweepstakes gambling establishments.

Anyone over the age of 18 can access the sweepstakes sites, which do not need normally require identification. However, websites like Chumba will request for IDs from gamers trying to withdraw any funds.

Many sites, like the crypto-compatible Stake, enable customers to submit mail-in ask for complimentary sweeps coins, offered the gamers follow painfully particular instructions. What's more, gamers are often rewarded with sweeps coins simply for registering, thereby providing a reason to attempt their hands at any variety of gambling establishment games for an opportunity to win - or lose - genuine money.

So why are sweepstakes sites allowed to operate in 48 states, while online gambling establishments are prohibited in all however 7?

According to the stakeholders, their product is the free casino-style video gaming, and the real-stakes competition is just a method of promoting their support.

'Social sweepstakes video games are merely a type of online home entertainment,' an SPGA spokesperson informed DailyMail.com by e-mail. 'No purchase is required to play at social casinos with sweepstakes prizes. Consumers never have to spend for a chance to win prizes. That absence of a purchase requirement - or" consideration" - is a vital difference between social sweeps and traditional online sports betting websites like gambling establishments.'

Think about the way that McDonald's uses its annual Monopoly video game to promote its food: Customers aren't paying to bet, but rather they're purchasing hamburgers and french fries that offer them the possibility to win profitable rewards, such as a $1 million prize.

And without a purchase requirement, or 'consideration', the video game itself doesn't fulfill the definition of sports betting in the US.

'Sweepstakes are an enduring technique for promoting all sort of everyday organizations in the United States, whatever from burgers to publication subscriptions to coffee and home improvement stores,' the SPGA representative told DailyMail.com. 'Sweepstakes promos are frequently used by a who's who of household names like AT&T, Chase, Home Depot, Marriott, Starbucks, and Wal-Mart.'

But to numerous sports betting market experts, that argument does not cut it.

For beginners, gaming attorney Daniel Wallach explains, McDonald's Monopoly game doesn't run indefinitely. Rather, it has a well-defined start and end, thereby suggesting the sweepstakes is not the fast-food giant's primary item. Instead, the sweepstakes is being used to promote genuine products like fries, shakes, and the Filet-O-Fish.

'They don't last permanently and they're generally not connected to casino-style games of chance,' Wallach told DailyMail.com. 'They're just cash free gifts.

'The sweepstakes [gambling establishments] have none of the qualities frequently associated with McDonald's-design sweepstakes promotions,' Wallach continued. 'Besides running in perpetuity, the sweepstakes gambling establishments offer" casino-like" payouts, usually 80 percent or more of profits, whereas the normal payout percentage for a short-term marketing sweepstakes is an insignificant share of the income made by the business [typically less than one percent]'

Wallach fasts to compare the online social sweeps gambling establishments to the internet cafes that sprang up in Florida, using customers the opportunity to play casino-style games for genuine prizes. A number of those brick-and-mortar establishments have actually since been shuttered over accusations of prohibited sports betting.

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

Now, Wallach argues, social sweeps casinos must face comparable scrutiny.

'These distinctions are not approximate,' Wallach said of social sweeps . 'They have actually consistently been mentioned by courts and state attorney general of the United States as essential consider determining that a sweepstakes promo was in reality a guise for illegal gaming.'

One of the casino market's leading trade companies, the American Gaming Association, is now pressing lawmakers to investigate sweepstakes operators and, in some cases, enact brand-new legislation on the issue.

'Consumers are being deprived of defenses and states are forgoing significant tax and revenue opportunities as this sports betting changes that performed through regulated channels,' read a well-circulated AGA memo.

And after that there are the complainants who have taken legal action against social casinos in more than a dozen states.
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Sweepstakes gambling establishment operators paid a combined $14.2 million in four separate cases in Kentucky without confessing any misdeed, according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile VGW concurred to pay $11.75 million in one class-action suit, stating the settlement was made to prevent legal costs and continued litigation.

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

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

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

'We generally don't comment on matters before the courts,' a VGW representative told DailyMail.com through email. 'However, we note that this claim has only simply been submitted with the court and VGW has not been formally served.

'We have complete confidence in our compliance with all laws and policies where we run, and remain confident about the future,' the representative continued. 'We continue to offer our free-to-play video games across most of The United States and Canada, as we have for more than a decade, creating not only great games, user experiences and entertainment, but likewise guaranteeing this is done safely, properly and at the highest level of requirements.

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

The issues between traditional online gaming and sweepstakes casinos might show problematic for some star 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 paradoxical that expert athletes are hawking unlawful sports betting wagering 'sweeps' websites while at the exact same time the leagues wish to forecast a strong position versus unlawful gaming - especially when trying to tamp down the periodic sports betting scandal,' Glaser informed DailyMail.com.

It was simply eight months ago that Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter got a lifetime ban from the NBA over allegations he conspired with gamblers. However, to be clear, Porter's scandal is unrelated to anything involving social or sweepstakes casinos.

In addition to VGW, Apple and Google are being demanded hosting presumably unlawful 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 professional athletes backing sweepstakes sites refers when, not if,' Glaser included.

Neither an NBA representative nor the players' representatives reacted to DailyMail.com's ask for comment. For that matter, spokespeople for Drake, DJ Khaled, Hilton, Seacrest and Phelps likewise neglected to react to DailyMail.com e-mails.

Asked if their celeb endorsers have a duty to explain to clients the distinctions and resemblances between iGaming and sweepstakes casinos, VGW insisted there is nothing more that needs to be done.

'We have full self-confidence in our influencer and ambassadorial collaborations, and our business practices more broadly,' the representative said. 'A few of our worths 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 differently.
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'Celebrities who lend their names to shady unlawful sports betting sites are, at a minimum, putting their track records at threat as well as courting civil and class actions by customers who declare damage,' Glaser stated. 'There is also some risk that state regulators and state chief law officers rope celeb endorsers into enforcement efforts for assisting in unlawful sports betting.'

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