Add Sweepstakes Casino Controversy - And Celebrities' All-important Role
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<br>The smiling faces of Paris Hilton and Ryan Seacrest made surprise appearances before the Louisiana Senate for Friday's hearing on unlawful gambling.<br>
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<br>No, they weren't personally in participation, however the world-famous stars were notably consisted of in a slide presentation on social and sweepstakes gambling establishments - the questionable sites offering both totally free casino-style games and lucrative prizes, such as cash, gift cards or cryptocurrency. In one ad, the fist-pumping Seacrest is seen plugging Chumba Casino, where anyone can 'bet free,' while a crop-topped Hilton holds a chip for [sweepstakes](https://catvcommunity.com.tr/read-blog/4477_things-you-need-to-learn-about-rafting-adventures.html) operator, Wow Vegas, in the other.<br>
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<br>The sites are just 2 cogs in the multibillion-dollar industry that now discovers itself besieged by lawsuits. In the eyes of numerous gaming corporations, not to discuss suit complainants and state regulators, sweepstakes gambling establishments function as standard casinos, just without the oversight, customer securities and tax laws. So not just can they avoid the high 24-percent federal gambling levy, however sweepstakes operators aren't based on regulative obstacles 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 earnings last year alone. Now the company deals with accusations of prohibited gaming in a New york city lawsuit that declares VGW utilizes star endorsers to 'produce a veneer of legitimacy' around its item. (See VGW's statement listed below)<br>
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<br>'I'm not exactly sure" if you don't trust us, you can trust Paris Hilton" is a winning message for business operating multibillion-dollar unlawful 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.<br>[bet9ja.com](https://landing.bet9ja.com/aviator-bet9ja?btag=yohaig&promocode=yohaig)
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<br>Sweepstakes endorsers include a series of celebs from gambling lovers Drake and DJ Khaled to swimmer Michael Phelps, as well as NBA stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Paul George - none of whom offer any distinctions in between traditional gaming and sweepstakes play.<br>
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<br>Paris Hilton is seen plugging Wow Vegas, among many sweepstakes casinos discovered online<br>
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<br>Ryan Seacrest prompts fans to dip into Chumba Casino, where lots of - however not all - video games are totally free<br>
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<br>Drake has a handle social sweeps casino, Stake, that he routinely touts on social networks<br>
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<br>Find out more<br>
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<br>Donald Trump 'set to name NBA team owner as US ambassador to Italy'<br>
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<br>Instead, ads typically focus around the social aspect of the casinos, while omitting the capacity for real [sports betting](https://we2chat.net/read-blog/26326_sport-betting-industry-wants-to-protect-itself.html) losses.<br>
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<br>Others tempt consumers with guarantees of rewards. One such operator, Stake, ran a social media advertisement showing off Drake's cars and trucks, aircrafts and mansions before rotating to video of the rap artist playing online casino-style video games.<br>
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<br>'Daddy, why do we have so much cash?' read the first caption on the screen.<br>[bet9ja.com](https://register.bet9ja.com/?btag=yohaig&promocode=yohaig)
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<br>Another caption described: 'Because I never ever quit.'<br>[bit.ly](https://bit.ly/Bet9jaPromotionCodeYOHAIG)
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<br>The discrepancy between gaming websites and social or sweepstakes gambling establishments is a bit intricate, but operators of the latter insist they're not involved with the previous.<br>
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<br>A representative for an industry trade group, the Social and Promotional Gaming Association (SPGA), explained its members are not in direct competitors with online gambling establishments and sportsbooks. Furthermore, according to SPGA data, many of the gamers on social-sweepstakes casinos are [sports betting](http://classicalmusicmp3freedownload.com/ja/index.php?title=%E5%88%A9%E7%94%A8%E8%80%85:ArletteNull30) complimentary.<br>
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<br>'Most social sweeps clients never ever purchase,' the SPGA representative told DailyMail.com. 'The minority of clients who make purchases do so in amounts far smaller than the normal deposit or wager size at real-money online gaming websites.'<br>
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<br>Social casinos provide customers a chance to play casino-style games with pals. Players have the option to purchase valueless currency often referred to as 'gold coins,' which can not be exchanged genuine money, however can be utilized to unlock various functions within the games.<br>
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<br>But within the world of establishments exists sweepstakes video gaming, enabling clients to obtain other currency called 'sweeps coins' that can be [exchanged](https://mysuccessdarpan.com/read-blog/12319_just-how-much-are-americans-investing-in-sports-betting.html) for money or other rewards.<br>
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<br>And therein lies the capacity for financial losses, like the ones declared by plaintiffs in Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and New York City. One gamer informed the Washington Post he lost more than $100,000 on sweepstakes casinos in the past year after [continuing](http://video.firstkick.live/read-blog/4647_exploring-the-sports-betting-industry-putting-ideas-into-practice.html) to buy 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 an International Poker occasion<br>
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<br>Social sweeps casino Stake ran an ad revealing off Drake's cars, planes and mansions<br>
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<br>Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks is another NBA star plugging VGW's Global Poker<br>[bit.ly](https://bit.ly/Bet9jaPromotionCodeYOHAIG)
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<br>Traditional online casinos are banned in all but seven states, which has actually helped to fuel the popularity of sweepstakes gambling establishments.<br>
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<br>Anyone over the age of 18 can access the [sweepstakes](https://parentingliteracy.com/wiki/index.php/User:CooperAuld992) sites, which don't need usually need recognition. However, sites like Chumba will request IDs from gamers attempting to withdraw any funds.<br>
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<br>Many sites, like the crypto-compatible Stake, enable consumers to send mail-in ask for [totally free](https://drapia.org/11-WIKI/index.php/User:ClevelandRoby89) sweeps coins, supplied the players follow painfully specific instructions. What's more, gamers are frequently rewarded with sweeps coins merely for signing up, thereby providing a factor to [attempt](https://2flab.com/read-blog/702_exploring-the-sports-betting-industry-putting-ideas-into-practice.html) their hands at any variety of casino video games for a possibility to win - or lose - genuine cash.<br>
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<br>So why are sweepstakes websites enabled to run in 48 states, while online gambling establishments are banned in all but 7?<br>
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<br>According to the stakeholders, their product is the free casino-style gaming, and the real-stakes competitors is merely a way of [promoting](http://touringtreffen.nl/read-blog/2403_tennessee-sports-betting-top-4-legal-betting-sites-in-2024.html) their bread and butter.<br>
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<br>'Social sweepstakes games are merely a form of online home entertainment,' an SPGA spokesperson informed DailyMail.com by email. 'No purchase is needed to dip into social gambling establishments with sweepstakes prizes. Consumers never have to pay for an opportunity to win rewards. That absence of a purchase requirement - or" consideration" - is an important difference between social sweeps and standard online gaming websites like casinos.'<br>
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<br>Consider the way that McDonald's uses its [yearly Monopoly](https://genzkenya.co.ke/read-blog/85_for-sports-gambling-to-be-legalised.html) game to promote its food: Customers aren't paying to bet, however rather they're purchasing hamburgers and fries that use them the possibility to win financially rewarding rewards, such as a $1 million prize.<br>
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<br>And without a purchase requirement, or 'factor to consider', the game itself does not meet the definition of gambling in the US.<br>
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<br>'Sweepstakes are a long-standing approach for promoting all sort of everyday businesses in the United States, everything from hamburgers to [publication subscriptions](http://touringtreffen.nl/read-blog/2366_uk-betting-firms-gamble-on-us-after-sports-wager-ruling.html) to coffee and home improvement stores,' the SPGA representative told DailyMail.com. 'Sweepstakes promos are frequently used by a who's who of family 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://africasfaces.com/read-blog/5852_how-are-betting-odds-calculated.html) industry experts, that argument doesn't cut it.<br>
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<br>For beginners, gaming lawyer Daniel Wallach points out, McDonald's Monopoly game doesn't run forever. Rather, it has a distinct beginning and end, thus recommending the sweepstakes is not the fast-food giant's main item. Instead, the sweepstakes is being utilized to [promote genuine](https://usvs.ms/read-blog/806_sports-minister-tracey-crouch-resigns-over-039-hold-up-039-to-betting-crackdown.html) items 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 connected to casino-style video games of opportunity,' Wallach told DailyMail.com. 'They're just [money free](https://reckoningz.com/uk-betting-firms-gamble-on-us-after-sports-wager-ruling/) gifts.<br>[bit.ly](https://bit.ly/Bet9jaPromotionCodeYOHAIG)
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<br>'The sweepstakes [gambling establishments] have none of the characteristics frequently associated with McDonald's-style sweepstakes promos,' Wallach continued. 'Besides running in all time, the sweepstakes gambling establishments provide" casino-like" payments, normally 80 percent or more of revenues, whereas the common payout percentage for a short-lived advertising sweepstakes is a trivial share of the earnings made by the company [generally less than one percent]'<br>
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<br>Wallach is quick to compare the online social sweeps gambling establishments to the internet coffee shops that emerged in Florida, using clients the chance to play casino-style games for genuine rewards. Many of those brick-and-mortar establishments have actually considering that been shuttered over allegations of unlawful gambling.<br>
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<br>DJ Khaled is amongst a number of celeb spokespeople for VGW's Global Poker brand<br>
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<br>Now, Wallach argues, social sweeps casinos must face similar examination.<br>
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<br>'These distinctions are not approximate,' Wallach stated of social sweeps casinos. 'They have repeatedly been pointed out by courts and state attorney generals as essential factors in identifying that a sweepstakes promo was in fact a guise for prohibited gambling.'<br>
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<br>One of the gambling establishment market's leading trade organizations, the American Gaming Association, is now pressing legislators to investigate sweepstakes operators and, sometimes, enact new legislation on the problem.<br>
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<br>'Consumers are being deprived of defenses and states are giving up substantial tax and revenue opportunities as this [sports betting](https://issosyal.com/read-blog/10004_how-to-play-bet9ja-online.html) replaces that conducted through managed channels,' read a well-circulated AGA memo.<br>
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<br>And then there are the complainants who have taken legal action against social casinos in more than a lots states.<br>
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<br>[Sweepstakes casino](https://peekz.eu/read-blog/100_compare-amp-review-oddsjet-de.html) operators paid a combined $14.2 million in 4 separate cases in Kentucky without confessing any wrongdoing, according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile VGW concurred to pay $11.75 million in one class-action suit, saying the settlement was made to prevent legal expenses and continued lawsuits.<br>
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<br>Michael Phelps has actually signed a handle the VGW Group, which [owns Global](https://drapia.org/11-WIKI/index.php/User:JodiPrentice7) Poker<br>
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<br>In the current suit, which is mostly similar to its predecessors, New York state locals 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 ['illegal](https://ai.tienda/read-blog/7274_just-how-much-are-americans-investing-in-sports-betting.html) [sports betting](https://naijamatta.com/read-blog/34822_how-to-withdraw-from-bet9ja-8-step-guide-to-money-in-your-wins.html) business. '<br>
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<br>Apple and Google have likewise been called as accuseds in claims for hosting the sweepstakes sites. But unlike VGW, neither tech business reacted to DailyMail.com's demand for comment.<br>
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<br>'We typically do not talk about matters before the courts,' a VGW representative told DailyMail.com through email. 'However, we note that this claim has only simply been filed with the court and VGW has actually not been formally served.<br>
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<br>'We have complete confidence in our [compliance](https://accc.rcec.sinica.edu.tw/mediawiki/index.php?title=User:AlphonseQuam275) with all laws and regulations where we run, and remain positive about the future,' the representative continued. 'We continue to use our free-to-play games across the majority of The United States and Canada, as we have for more than a years, creating not just fantastic video 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 restate](https://www.eruptz.com/read-blog/17424_how-much-are-americans-spending-on-sports-betting.html) 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 plan to strongly protect any claim which might be brought against us.'<br>
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<br>The problems between traditional online gaming and sweepstakes casinos could show bothersome for some star 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 while the NBA is partnered with traditional gaming titans like FanDuel and DraftKings.<br>
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<br>'It's paradoxical that expert athletes are hawking unlawful [sports betting](https://nexthub.live/read-blog/85_the-ins-and-outs-of-betting-on-the-nfl-draft.html) wagering 'sweeps' sites while at the very same time the leagues wish to predict a [strong position](https://africasfaces.com/read-blog/5852_how-are-betting-odds-calculated.html) versus prohibited gaming - especially when attempting to tamp down the periodic gambling scandal,' Glaser told DailyMail.com.<br>
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<br>It was simply eight months ago that Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter got a life time 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 gambling establishments.<br>
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<br>Together with VGW, Apple and Google are being demanded hosting supposedly unlawful 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 expect that a league crackdown on athletes backing sweepstakes sites is a matter of when, not if,' Glaser added.<br>
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<br>Neither an NBA representative nor the gamers' representatives responded 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.<br>
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<br>Asked if their celeb endorsers have a duty to discuss to clients the differences and similarities in between iGaming and sweepstakes casinos, VGW firmly [insisted](https://noaisocial.pro/read-blog/2373_sweepstakes-casino-controversy-and-celebrities-039-all-important-role.html) there is nothing more that requires to be done.<br>
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<br>'We have full self-confidence in our influencer and ambassadorial collaborations, and our company practices more broadly,' the representative stated. 'Some of our values are" our gamers come first" and" we do what's right", and we put our values at the core of everything we do.'<br>
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<br>Glaser, an outspoken opponent of sweepstakes websites, sees things in a different way.<br>[bet9ja.com](https://register.bet9ja.com/?btag=yohaig&promocode=yohaig)
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<br>'Celebrities who lend their names to shady unlawful [sports betting](https://sensualmarketplace.com/read-blog/6442_exploring-the-sports-betting-industry-putting-ideas-into-practice.html) websites are, at a minimum, putting their credibilities at danger in addition to courting civil and class actions by consumers who declare damage,' Glaser stated. 'There is also some threat that state regulators and state chief law officers rope celebrity endorsers into enforcement efforts for facilitating unlawful gambling.'<br>
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