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 gaming.<br>[bet9ja.com](https://register.bet9ja.com/?btag=yohaig&promocode=yohaig)
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<br>No, they weren't personally in attendance, but the world-famous stars were conspicuously included in a slide presentation on social and sweepstakes casinos - the controversial sites using both free casino-style video games and profitable rewards, such as money, gift cards or cryptocurrency. In one ad, the fist-pumping Seacrest is seen [plugging](https://huconnect.org/read-blog/452_just-how-much-are-americans-spending-on-sports-betting.html) Chumba Casino, where anyone can 'play for complimentary,' while a crop-topped Hilton holds a chip for sweepstakes operator, Wow Vegas, in the other.<br>
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<br>The sites are simply two cogs in the [multibillion-dollar industry](https://pipewiki.org/wiki/index.php/User:EugeneA2097) that now finds itself besieged by lawsuits. In the eyes of many gaming corporations, not to mention suit complainants and state regulators, sweepstakes casinos serve as standard gambling establishments, just without the oversight, consumer defenses and tax laws. So not only can they prevent the steep 24-percent federal gambling levy, but sweepstakes operators aren't subject to regulatory difficulties like anti-money laundering and responsible-gaming securities.<br>
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<br>One operator, Australia-based Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), reported $4 billion in revenue last year alone. Now the business faces allegations of illegal [sports betting](https://famenest.com/read-blog/56199_things-you-need-to-know-about-rafting-adventures.html) in a New [york city](https://linkin.commoners.in/read-blog/25808_enhance-your-business-opportunities-with-efficient-sports-apps.html) suit that claims VGW uses celeb endorsers to 'develop a veneer of legitimacy' around its item. (See VGW's statement below)<br>
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<br>'I'm not sure" if you do not trust us, you can rely on Paris Hilton" is a winning message for companies running multibillion-dollar unlawful operations out of locations like Malta, Isle of Man, or US mail drops,' Friday's presenter, Howard Glaser of video gaming corporation Light & Wonder, informed DailyMail.com.<br>
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<br>Sweepstakes endorsers consist of a range of celebrities from gambling lovers Drake and [DJ Khaled](https://www.opentx.cz/index.php/U%C5%BEivatel:AldaWainscott) to swimmer Michael Phelps, as well as NBA stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Paul George - none of whom offer any differences between standard [sports betting](https://tartar.app/read-blog/1635_how-to-play-bet9ja-online.html) and sweepstakes play.<br>
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<br>Paris Hilton is seen plugging Wow Vegas, one of many sweepstakes gambling establishments found online<br>
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<br>Ryan Seacrest [urges fans](https://africasfaces.com/read-blog/5850_best-u-s-sports-betting-sites-amp-sportsbooks-for-2024.html) to play at Chumba Casino, where many - but not all - games are totally free<br>
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<br>Drake has a handle social sweeps casino, Stake, that he frequently touts on social media<br>
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<br>Learn more<br>
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<br>Donald Trump 'set to call NBA team owner as US ambassador to Italy'<br>
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<br>Instead, ads normally focus around the social element of the casinos, while leaving out the capacity for real gambling losses.<br>
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<br>Others tempt consumers with promises of rewards. One such operator, Stake, ran a social media advertisement revealing off Drake's cars, aircrafts and mansions before pivoting to video of the rapper playing online casino-style games.<br>
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<br>'Daddy, why do we have so much cash?' read the very first caption on the screen.<br>
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<br>Another caption explained: 'Because I never quit.'<br>
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<br>The discrepancy between [sports betting](https://namesdev.com/read-blog/15166_begin-winning-with-pcg-college-football-picks.html) sites and social or sweepstakes casinos is a bit intricate, but operators of the latter insist they're not included with the previous.<br>
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<br>A representative for a market trade group, the Social and Promotional Gaming Association (SPGA), described its members are not in direct competition with online gambling establishments and sportsbooks. Furthermore, according to SPGA data, most of the gamers on social-sweepstakes casinos are playing for totally free.<br>
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<br>'Most social sweeps consumers never buy,' the SPGA representative informed DailyMail.com. 'The minority of customers who make purchases do so in amounts far smaller than the common deposit or bet size at real-money online [gambling](https://tartar.app/read-blog/1725_sports-minister-tracey-crouch-resigns-over-039-delay-039-to-betting-crackdown.html) sites.'<br>
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<br>Social gambling establishments offer clients an opportunity to [play casino-style](https://gryzor.info/index.php/User:SNXFrancesca) video games with buddies. Players have the option to buy valueless currency frequently referred to as 'gold coins,' which can not be exchanged for genuine cash, but can be utilized to unlock different functions within the games.<br>
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<br>But within the world of social gambling establishments [exists sweepstakes](https://olps.co.za/wiki/User:KatiaHeidenreich) video gaming, enabling consumers to obtain other currency known as 'sweeps coins' that can be exchanged for money or other rewards.<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 previous year after continuing to purchase more coins in [pursuit](https://pediascape.science/wiki/User:MilfordLongshore) of cash and other things of value.<br>
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<br>The Philadelphia 76ers' Paul George is seen promoting a Global Poker event<br>
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<br>Social sweeps gambling establishment Stake ran an advertisement showing off Drake's cars, aircrafts and mansions<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 [casinos](https://krazzykross.com/read-blog/1512_things-you-need-to-understand-about-rafting-adventures.html) are banned in all but 7 states, which has actually helped to fuel the appeal of sweepstakes gambling establishments.<br>
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<br>Anyone over the age of 18 can access the sweepstakes sites, which don't require normally require identification. 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, permit clients to send mail-in ask for complimentary sweeps coins, offered the players follow painfully specific directions. What's more, gamers are typically rewarded with sweeps coins simply for signing up, therefore providing a reason to try their hands at any variety of gambling establishment video games for an opportunity to win - or lose - genuine money.<br>
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<br>So why are sweepstakes websites enabled to run in 48 states, while online casinos are prohibited in all however 7?<br>
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<br>According to the stakeholders, their product is the complimentary casino-style video gaming, and the real-stakes competition is simply a means of promoting their bread and butter.<br>
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<br>'Social sweepstakes video games are just a form of online home entertainment,' an SPGA representative informed DailyMail.com by e-mail. 'No purchase is needed to dip into social gambling establishments with sweepstakes rewards. Consumers never ever need to spend for an opportunity to win prizes. That absence of a purchase requirement - or" consideration" - is a crucial distinction between social sweeps and standard online gambling sites like casinos.'<br>
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<br>Think about the method that McDonald's uses its annual Monopoly video game to promote its food: Customers aren't paying to bet, but rather they're buying hamburgers and fries that provide them the possibility to win rewarding rewards, such as a $1 million prize.<br>
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<br>And without a purchase requirement, or 'consideration', the game itself does not fulfill the definition of gaming in the US.<br>
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<br>'Sweepstakes are a long-standing technique for promoting all type of everyday organizations in the United States, whatever from burgers to magazine subscriptions to coffee and home [enhancement](https://bbarlock.com/index.php/User:MarisolHockman3) shops,' the SPGA representative told DailyMail.com. 'Sweepstakes promotions are routinely used 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://uptoscreen.com/read-blog/74329_why-every-cricket-fan-need-to-try-the-all-cricket-id-gaming-platform.html) market insiders, that argument does not cut it.<br>
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<br>For starters, gaming attorney Daniel Wallach points out, McDonald's Monopoly video game doesn't run indefinitely. Rather, it has a well-defined start and end, consequently recommending the sweepstakes is not the fast-food giant's primary product. Instead, the sweepstakes is being used to promote genuine items like fries, shakes, and the Filet-O-Fish.<br>
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<br>'They don't last forever and they're typically not connected to casino-style games of opportunity,' Wallach told DailyMail.com. ['They're](https://dreamtvhd.com/read-blog/39_uk-betting-firms-gamble-on-us-after-sports-wager-ruling.html) just cash free gifts.<br>
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<br>'The sweepstakes [casinos] possess none of the qualities typically related to McDonald's-design sweepstakes promos,[' Wallach](http://ringturbine.com80/index.php/User:BrittDobbins8) continued. 'Besides running in perpetuity, the sweepstakes casinos provide" casino-like" payouts, normally 80 percent or more of incomes, whereas the common payment portion for a short-lived marketing sweepstakes is a minor share of the earnings earned by the business [generally less than one percent]'<br>
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<br>Wallach is fast to compare the online social sweeps gambling establishments to the web coffee shops that sprang up in Florida, providing consumers the chance to play casino-style video games for genuine prizes. A number of those brick-and-mortar establishments have actually since been shuttered over claims of prohibited gaming.<br>
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<br>DJ Khaled is amongst a number of star spokespeople for VGW's Global Poker brand name<br>
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<br>Now, Wallach argues, social sweeps gambling establishments should face similar scrutiny.<br>
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<br>'These differences are not approximate,' Wallach stated of social sweeps casinos. 'They have consistently been pointed out by courts and state attorney general of the United States as crucial consider identifying that a sweepstakes promotion was in reality a guise for illegal gambling.'<br>
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<br>One of the gambling establishment market's [leading](https://rhabits.io/read-blog/7356_online-betting-firms-gamble-on-soccer-mad-nigeria.html) trade organizations, the American Gaming Association, is now pressing lawmakers to examine sweepstakes [operators](https://wow.twinear.com/read-blog/1000_sweepstakes-casino-controversy-and-celebrities-039-all-important-role.html) and, sometimes, enact brand-new legislation on the issue.<br>
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<br>'Consumers are being deprived of securities and states are giving up significant tax and income opportunities as this gaming changes that conducted through controlled channels,' checked out a well-circulated AGA memo.<br>
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<br>And after that there are the who have taken legal action against social gambling establishments in more than a lots states.<br>
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<br>Sweepstakes casino operators paid a combined $14.2 million in 4 separate cases in Kentucky without confessing any misbehavior, according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile VGW agreed to pay $11.75 million in one class-action claim, saying the settlement was made to avoid legal expenses and continued lawsuits.<br>
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<br>Michael Phelps has actually signed a deal with the VGW Group, which owns Global Poker<br>
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<br>In the latest suit, which is mainly similar to its predecessors, New york city state homeowners Lamar Prater and Rebecca Pratt both claim to have lost well over $1,000 to VGW, which is described in the filing as an 'illegal gambling business. '<br>
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<br>Apple and Google have actually also been called as offenders in claims for hosting the sweepstakes websites. But unlike VGW, neither tech company responded to DailyMail.com's demand for remark.<br>
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<br>'We typically don't [discuss matters](https://alumni.myra.ac.in/read-blog/148721_online-betting-firms-gamble-on-soccer-mad-nigeria.html) before the courts,' a VGW representative informed DailyMail.com by means of e-mail. 'However, we keep in mind that this claim has actually only simply been submitted with the court and VGW has not been formally served.<br>
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<br>'We have full confidence in our compliance with all laws and guidelines where we operate, and stay positive about the future,' the spokesperson continued. 'We continue to provide our free-to-play games across the majority of The United States and Canada, as we have for more than a years, producing not just excellent games, user experiences and home entertainment, but also ensuring this is done safely, responsibly and at the greatest level of standards.<br>
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<br>'More broadly, we 'd reiterate that class actions and other lawsuits and arbitrations are relatively common across the online social games market (and the US more broadly), and our basic practice is that we mean to vigorously protect any claim which may be brought versus us.'<br>
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<br>The concerns between conventional online [sports betting](http://www.larsaluarna.se/index.php/User:MireyaFlatt) and sweepstakes casinos could show problematic for some celebrity endorsers.<br>
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<br>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 traditional gaming titans like FanDuel and DraftKings.<br>
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<br>'It's ironic that professional athletes are [hawking prohibited](https://tripta.social/read-blog/1302_how-much-are-americans-investing-in-sports-betting.html) [sports betting](https://mxlinkin.mimeld.com/read-blog/675_sweepstakes-casino-controversy-and-celebrities-039-all-important-role.html) 'sweeps' websites while at the same time the leagues wish to forecast a strong position versus illegal [sports betting](https://reckoningz.com/uk-betting-firms-gamble-on-united-states-after-sports-wager-ruling/) - particularly when trying to tamp down the periodic gaming scandal,' Glaser informed DailyMail.com.<br>
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<br>It was simply eight months ago that Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter got a life time restriction from the NBA over allegations he conspired with bettors. However, to be clear, Porter's scandal is unrelated to anything involving social or sweepstakes gambling establishments.<br>
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<br>In addition to VGW, Apple and Google are being demanded hosting presumably prohibited [sports betting](https://moonifie.com/read-blog/1410_online-betting-firms-gamble-on-soccer-mad-nigeria.html) websites<br>
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<br>Regardless, Glaser sees sweepstakes gambling establishments as a significant issue for leagues such as the NBA.<br>
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<br>'I 'd expect that a league crackdown on professional athletes backing sweepstakes websites is a matter of when, not if,' Glaser added.<br>
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<br>Neither an NBA representative nor the players' agents reacted to DailyMail.com's requests for comment. For that matter, spokespeople for Drake, DJ Khaled, Hilton, Seacrest and Phelps also disregarded to respond to DailyMail.com e-mails.<br>
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<br>Asked if their celebrity endorsers have a responsibility to describe to consumers the differences and resemblances in between iGaming and sweepstakes gambling establishments, VGW firmly insisted there is absolutely nothing more that needs to be done.<br>
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<br>'We have full confidence in our influencer and ambassadorial partnerships, and our service practices more broadly,' the representative said. 'A few of our worths are" our gamers precede" 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 their names to dubious unlawful [sports betting](https://followingbook.com/read-blog/20215_exploring-the-sports-betting-industry-putting-ideas-into-practice.html) websites are, at a minimum, putting their credibilities at danger along with courting civil and class actions by consumers who declare harm,' Glaser said. 'There is likewise some threat that state regulators and state attorney generals of the United States rope star endorsers into enforcement efforts for helping with prohibited [sports betting](https://chelseafansclub.com/read-blog/13180_how-to-play-bet9ja-online.html).'<br>
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