Add Sweepstakes Casino Controversy - And Celebrities' All-important Role
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[bet9ja.com](https://register.bet9ja.com/?btag=yohaig&promocode=yohaig)<br>The smiling faces of Paris Hilton and Ryan Seacrest made surprise looks before the Louisiana Senate for Friday's hearing on illegal gambling.<br>
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<br>No, they weren't personally in presence, however the world-famous stars were notably consisted of in a slide discussion on social and sweepstakes casinos - the controversial sites offering both free casino-style games and profitable rewards, such as cash, present cards or cryptocurrency. In one advertisement, the fist-pumping Seacrest is seen plugging Chumba Casino, where anybody can 'play for free,' while a crop-topped Hilton holds a chip for [sweepstakes](https://accc.rcec.sinica.edu.tw/mediawiki/index.php?title=User:DortheaE34) operator, Wow Vegas, in the other.<br>[bet9ja.com](https://register.bet9ja.com/?btag=yohaig&promocode=yohaig)
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<br>The sites are just two cogs in the multibillion-dollar industry that now discovers itself [besieged](http://it-viking.ch/index.php/User:MaudeStanford27) by lawsuits. In the eyes of lots of video gaming corporations, not to discuss claim complainants and state regulators, sweepstakes gambling establishments serve as standard casinos, just without the oversight, [consumer protections](https://wow.twinear.com/read-blog/993_just-how-much-are-americans-spending-on-sports-betting.html) and tax laws. So not just can they prevent the steep 24-percent federal [sports betting](https://philadelphiaflyersclub.com/read-blog/8453_things-you-need-to-learn-about-rafting-adventures.html) levy, but sweepstakes operators aren't based on regulative difficulties like anti-money laundering and responsible-gaming defenses.<br>
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<br>One operator, Australia-based Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), reported $4 billion in profits last year alone. Now the company faces accusations of unlawful [sports betting](https://gamehiker.com/wiki/index.php/User:CharlaPrewitt87) in a New York suit that declares VGW uses celebrity endorsers to 'create a veneer of legitimacy' around its product. (See VGW's statement listed below)<br>
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<br>'I'm not sure" if you don't trust us, you can rely on Paris Hilton" is a winning message for companies operating multibillion-dollar prohibited operations out of places like Malta, Isle of Man, or US mail drops,' Friday's speaker, Howard Glaser of video gaming corporation Light & Wonder, told [DailyMail](https://wiki.monnaie-libre.fr/wiki/Utilisateur:TerriHemming94).com.<br>
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<br>Sweepstakes endorsers include a range of celebs from gambling 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 between standard gambling and sweepstakes play.<br>
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<br>Paris Hilton is seen plugging Wow Vegas, among lots of sweepstakes gambling establishments found online<br>
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<br>Ryan Seacrest prompts fans to dip into Chumba Casino, where lots of - but not all - video games are totally free<br>
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<br>Drake has an offer with social sweeps casino, Stake, that he routinely promotes on social networks<br>
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<br>Find out more<br>
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<br>Donald Trump 'set to name NBA group owner as US ambassador to Italy'<br>
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<br>Instead, advertisements normally focus around the social element of the gambling establishments, while leaving out the [capacity](https://www.proathletediscuss.com/read-blog/408_best-u-s-sports-betting-sites-amp-sportsbooks-for-2024.html) for real [sports betting](https://sfqatest.sociofans.com/read-blog/690_sport-betting-industry-wants-to-protect-itself.html) losses.<br>
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<br>Others lure customers with pledges of rewards. One such operator, Stake, ran a social media ad flaunting Drake's cars and trucks, planes and mansions before rotating to video footage of the rap artist playing online casino-style games.<br>
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<br>'Daddy, why do we have a lot money?' read the first [caption](https://bdstarter.com/online-betting-firms-gamble-on-soccer-mad-nigeria-2/) on the screen.<br>
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<br>Another caption described: 'Because I never offered up.'<br>
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<br>The discrepancy in between gaming sites and social or sweepstakes gambling establishments is a bit intricate, however operators of the latter insist they're not involved with the former.<br>
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<br>A representative for an industry trade group, the Social and Promotional Gaming Association (SPGA), described its members are not in direct competitors with online casinos and sportsbooks. Furthermore, according to SPGA data, most of the gamers on social-sweepstakes casinos are [sports betting](https://parentingliteracy.com/wiki/index.php/User:LibbyPetterd425) totally free.<br>
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<br>'Most social sweeps consumers never ever buy,' the SPGA spokesperson informed DailyMail.com. 'The minority of clients who make purchases do so in quantities far smaller than the typical deposit or wager size at real-money online gambling sites.'<br>
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<br>Social gambling establishments provide clients a chance to play casino-style games with buddies. Players have the choice to buy valueless currency often referred to as 'gold coins,' which can not be exchanged genuine money, however can be utilized to unlock various [features](https://lubuzz.com/read-blog/109_online-betting-firms-gamble-on-soccer-mad-nigeria.html) within the [video games](https://moonifie.com/read-blog/1423_sports-minister-tracey-crouch-resigns-over-039-hold-up-039-to-betting-crackdown.html).<br>
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<br>But within the world of social casinos exists sweepstakes video gaming, enabling customers to get other currency called 'sweeps coins' that can be exchanged for cash or other prizes.<br>
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<br>And therein lies the potential for monetary losses, like the ones declared by complainants in Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and New York City. One player told 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 money and other things of worth.<br>
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<br>The Philadelphia 76ers' Paul George is seen promoting a Worldwide Poker event<br>
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<br>Social sweeps gambling establishment Stake ran an advertisement displaying Drake's cars and trucks, aircrafts and estates<br>
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<br>Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York City Knicks is another NBA star plugging VGW's Global Poker<br>
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<br>Traditional online gambling establishments are prohibited in all but 7 states, which has actually helped to sustain the appeal of sweepstakes casinos.<br>
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<br>Anyone over the age of 18 can access the sweepstakes sites, which do not need normally need [identification](http://ringturbine.com80/index.php/User:RaquelJudge). However, sites like Chumba will request IDs from players trying to withdraw any funds.<br>
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<br>Many websites, like the crypto-compatible Stake, enable consumers to send mail-in demands for totally free sweeps coins, provided the players follow painfully specific directions. What's more, players are often rewarded with sweeps coins just for registering, consequently providing a factor to attempt their hands at any variety of gambling establishment video games for a chance to win - or lose - genuine cash.<br>
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<br>So why are sweepstakes sites allowed to run in 48 states, while online casinos are banned in all however 7?<br>
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<br>According to the stakeholders, their product is the free casino-style gaming, and the real-stakes competition is merely a means of promoting their support.<br>
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<br>'Social sweepstakes games are just a kind of online entertainment,' an SPGA representative informed DailyMail.com by email. 'No purchase is required to play at social gambling establishments with sweepstakes prizes. Consumers never need to pay for an opportunity to win prizes. That lack of a purchase requirement - or" factor to consider" - is an essential difference in between social sweeps and conventional online gaming websites like gambling establishments.'<br>
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<br>Consider the method that McDonald's uses its yearly Monopoly game to promote its food: Customers aren't paying to bet, but rather they're buying hamburgers and french fries that use them the chance to win profitable prizes, such as a $1 million prize.<br>
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<br>And without a purchase requirement, or 'consideration', the game itself doesn't meet the [meaning](https://wiki.rrtn.org/wiki/index.php/User:AurelioNicoll) of gaming in the US.<br>
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<br>'Sweepstakes are a long-standing technique for promoting all type of daily businesses in the United States, everything from hamburgers to magazine memberships to coffee and home enhancement stores,' the SPGA spokesperson informed 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.'<br>
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<br>But to lots of [sports betting](https://coptr.digipres.org/index.php/User:TreyMcQuade53) market insiders, that argument does not cut it.<br>
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<br>For starters, video gaming attorney Daniel Wallach points out, McDonald's Monopoly video game doesn't run forever. Rather, it has a well-defined start and end, consequently suggesting the sweepstakes is not the fast-food giant's primary product. Instead, the sweepstakes is being used to promote genuine products like french fries, shakes, and the Filet-O-Fish.<br>
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<br>'They do not last permanently and they're normally not tied to casino-style video games of chance,' Wallach informed DailyMail.com. 'They're just .<br>
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<br>'The sweepstakes [casinos] have none of the attributes frequently associated with McDonald's-style sweepstakes promos,' Wallach continued. 'Besides running in eternity, the sweepstakes casinos use" casino-like" payouts, normally 80 percent or more of incomes, whereas the typical payment percentage for a temporary promotional sweepstakes is an unimportant share of the profits earned by the business [typically less than one percent]'<br>
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<br>Wallach fasts to liken the [online social](https://tartar.app/read-blog/1671_how-are-betting-odds-calculated.html) sweeps casinos to the web cafes that sprang up in Florida, using consumers the opportunity to play casino-style games for genuine rewards. Many of those brick-and-mortar facilities have considering that been shuttered over accusations of prohibited gaming.<br>
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<br>DJ Khaled is among several celebrity spokespeople for VGW's [Global Poker](https://clik.social/read-blog/19002_for-sports-gambling-to-be-legalised.html) brand name<br>
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<br>Now, Wallach argues, social sweeps gambling establishments must deal with similar examination.<br>
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<br>'These differences are not approximate,' Wallach said of social sweeps gambling establishments. 'They have actually consistently been cited by courts and state attorney general of the United States as key consider identifying that a sweepstakes promotion remained in fact a guise for unlawful [sports betting](https://embargo.energy/index.php/User:Wallace08G).'<br>
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<br>Among the casino industry's leading trade organizations, the American Gaming Association, is now pressing [legislators](https://bigtoc.com/read-blog/8936_how-to-withdraw-from-bet9ja-8-step-guide-to-cash-in-your-wins.html) to examine sweepstakes operators and, sometimes, enact new legislation on the concern.<br>
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<br>'Consumers are being denied of defenses and states are passing up significant tax and profits opportunities as this gaming replaces that carried out through regulated channels,' read a well-circulated AGA memo.<br>
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<br>And after that there are the plaintiffs who have actually taken legal action against social casinos in more than a lots states.<br>
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<br>Sweepstakes casino operators paid a combined $14.2 million in four separate cases in Kentucky without admitting any misbehavior, according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile VGW accepted pay $11.75 million in one class-action suit, stating the settlement was made to prevent legal expenses and continued lawsuits.<br>
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<br>Michael Phelps has signed a handle the VGW Group, which owns Global Poker<br>
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<br>In the newest claim, which is mostly comparable to its predecessors, New york city state homeowners Lamar Prater and Rebecca Pratt both declare to have actually lost well over $1,000 to VGW, which is described in the filing as an 'illegal [sports betting](https://philadelphiaflyersclub.com/read-blog/8457_warner-bros-discovery-sets-stage-for-potential-cable-deal-by.html) [enterprise](https://wiki.monnaie-libre.fr/wiki/Utilisateur:Vonnie9566). '<br>
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<br>Apple and Google have actually likewise been named as defendants in suits for hosting the sweepstakes websites. But unlike VGW, neither tech business reacted to DailyMail.com's request for remark.<br>
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<br>'We typically do not discuss matters before the courts,' a VGW representative informed DailyMail.com through e-mail. 'However, we keep in mind that this claim has only just been submitted with the court and VGW has actually not been formally served.<br>
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<br>'We have complete confidence in our compliance with all laws and policies where we run, and stay confident about the future,' the spokesperson continued. 'We continue to offer our free-to-play games across the majority of North America, as we have for more than a decade, developing not just terrific games, user experiences and home entertainment, however likewise ensuring this is done safely, properly and at the highest level of requirements.<br>
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<br>'More broadly, we 'd restate that class actions and other lawsuits and arbitrations are relatively common throughout the [online social](https://fishtanklive.wiki/User:DeniceRidley984) games market (and the US more broadly), and our basic practice is that we plan to strongly protect any claim which might be brought versus us.'<br>
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<br>The issues between traditional online gaming and sweepstakes casinos could show bothersome for some celeb endorsers.<br>
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<br>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.<br>
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<br>'It's paradoxical that expert athletes are hawking unlawful [sports betting](https://mixup.wiki/index.php/User:ClydeShakespeare) wagering 'sweeps' sites while at the exact same time the leagues want to predict a strong position versus prohibited gaming - especially when trying to tamp down the occasional [sports betting](https://youslade.com/read-blog/41362_the-history-of-the-nfl-and-how-to-bet-on-it.html) scandal,' Glaser informed DailyMail.com.<br>
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<br>It was just 8 months ago that Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter received a life time restriction from the NBA over allegations he conspired with bettors. However, to be clear, Porter's scandal is unassociated to anything [including social](http://archmageriseswiki.com/index.php/User:TheresaVelazquez) or sweepstakes casinos.<br>
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<br>Together with VGW, Apple and Google are being demanded hosting allegedly prohibited gambling websites<br>
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<br>Regardless, Glaser sees sweepstakes casinos as a major problem for leagues such as the NBA.<br>
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<br>'I 'd anticipate that a league crackdown on professional athletes backing sweepstakes websites is a matter of when, not if,' Glaser included.<br>
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<br>Neither an NBA representative nor the players' representatives responded to DailyMail.com's ask for remark. For that matter, spokespeople for Drake, DJ Khaled, Hilton, Seacrest and Phelps also ignored to react to DailyMail.com emails.<br>
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<br>Asked if their celeb endorsers have an obligation to explain to clients the distinctions and similarities in between iGaming and sweepstakes gambling establishments, VGW insisted there is nothing more that needs to be done.<br>
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<br>'We have full self-confidence in our influencer and ambassadorial collaborations, and our service practices more broadly,' the representative said. 'A few of our values are" our gamers come initially" and" we do what's right", and we put our worths at the core of everything we do.'<br>
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<br>Glaser, an outspoken challenger of sweepstakes sites, sees things in a different way.<br>[bet9ja.com](https://register.bet9ja.com/?btag=yohaig&promocode=yohaig)
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<br>'Celebrities who [provide](https://voggisper.com/read-blog/1230_how-fantasy-betting-app-development-companies-and-sports-developers.html) their names to dubious prohibited gaming sites are, at a minimum, putting their credibilities at risk as well as courting civil and class actions by consumers who declare harm,' Glaser said. 'There is also some threat that state regulators and state attorneys basic rope celebrity endorsers into enforcement efforts for assisting in illegal [sports betting](https://friends.win/read-blog/20599_enhance-your-business-opportunities-with-efficient-sports-apps.html).'<br>
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