Add 'Sweepstakes Casino Controversy - And Celebrities' All-important Role'
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[bit.ly](https://bit.ly/Bet9jaPromotionCodeYOHAIG)<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>[bit.ly](https://bit.ly/Bet9jaPromotionCodeYOHAIG)
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<br>No, they weren't personally in attendance, but the world-famous celebrities were conspicuously consisted of in a slide presentation on social and sweepstakes casinos - the questionable sites providing both totally free casino-style games and rewarding prizes, such as money, gift cards or cryptocurrency. In one ad, the fist-pumping Seacrest is seen plugging Chumba Casino, where anybody can 'play for totally free,' while a crop-topped Hilton holds a chip for sweepstakes operator, Wow Vegas, in the other.<br>[bit.ly](https://bit.ly/Bet9jaPromotionCodeYOHAIG)
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<br>The sites are just two cogs in the multibillion-dollar industry that now finds itself besieged by claims. In the eyes of lots of gaming corporations, not to point out suit plaintiffs and state regulators, sweepstakes gambling establishments serve as conventional casinos, only without the oversight, customer defenses and tax laws. So not only can they avoid the steep 24-percent federal [sports betting](https://genzkenya.co.ke/read-blog/85_for-sports-gambling-to-be-legalised.html) levy, but sweepstakes operators aren't subject to regulatory hurdles like anti-money [laundering](https://forum.webmark.com.tr/index.php?qa=60802&qa_1=for-sports-gambling-to-be-legalised) and responsible-gaming defenses.<br>
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<br>One operator, Australia-based Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), reported $4 billion in earnings in 2015 alone. Now the company deals with allegations of prohibited [sports betting](https://almightyblondeone.com/index.php/User:AriannePartridge) in a New york city suit that declares VGW uses star endorsers to 'create a veneer of legitimacy' around its product. (See VGW's declaration listed below)<br>
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<br>'I'm unsure" if you don't trust us, you can rely on Paris Hilton" is a winning message for business running multibillion-dollar illegal operations out of places like Malta, Isle of Man, or US mail drops,' Friday's presenter, Howard Glaser of video gaming [corporation Light](https://ask.onekeeitsolutions.com/index.php?qa=86524&qa_1=begin-winning-with-pcg-college-football-picks) & Wonder, informed DailyMail.com.<br>
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<br>Sweepstakes endorsers consist of a range of celebs from [sports betting](https://mixup.wiki/index.php/User:ClydeShakespeare) lovers Drake and DJ Khaled to swimmer Michael Phelps, as well as NBA stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Paul George - none of whom provide any [differences](https://social.midnightdreamsreborns.com/read-blog/13389_how-to-attract-users-to-my-fantasy-sports-platform.html) in between standard [sports betting](https://palkwall.com/read-blog/27740_for-sports-gambling-to-be-legalised.html) 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 urges fans to play at Chumba Casino, where lots of - but not all - games are free<br>
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<br>Drake has a handle social sweeps gambling establishment, Stake, that he regularly promotes on social media<br>
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<br>Learn 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 normally focus around the social aspect of the gambling establishments, while leaving out the capacity for real gaming losses.<br>
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<br>Others tempt customers with promises of rewards. One such operator, Stake, ran a social media ad showing off Drake's vehicles, aircrafts and estates before rotating to video of the rap artist playing online casino-style games.<br>
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<br>'Daddy, why do we have so much money?' read the very first caption on the screen.<br>
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<br>Another caption described: 'Because I never ever provided up.'<br>
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<br>The disparity in between [sports betting](https://richonline.club/read-blog/3571_tennessee-sports-betting-top-4-legal-betting-sites-in-2024.html) websites and social or sweepstakes casinos is a bit complex, however operators of the latter insist they're not involved with the former.<br>
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<br>A representative for a market trade group, the Social and Promotional Gaming Association (SPGA), explained its members are not in direct competitors with online casinos and sportsbooks. Furthermore, according to SPGA data, the majority of the players on social-sweepstakes casinos are playing for complimentary.<br>
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<br>'Most social sweeps consumers never make a purchase,' the SPGA spokesperson told DailyMail.com. 'The minority of consumers who make purchases do so in amounts far smaller than the common deposit or bet size at real-money online gaming sites.'<br>
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<br>Social gambling establishments offer customers an opportunity to play casino-style video games with pals. Players have the option to purchase worthless [currency frequently](https://oolibuzz.com/read-blog/41745_warner-bros-discovery-sets-stage-for-potential-cable-deal-by.html) described as 'gold coins,' which can not be exchanged genuine money, but can be used to open various features within the video games.<br>
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<br>But within the world of social casinos exists sweepstakes video gaming, allowing consumers to get other currency referred to as '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 informed the Washington Post he lost more than $100,000 on sweepstakes casinos in the past year after continuing 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 a Global Poker occasion<br>
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<br>Social sweeps gambling establishment Stake ran an advertisement flaunting Drake's vehicles, aircrafts and estates<br>
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<br>[Karl-Anthony Towns](https://terra.planetv.wtf/read-blog/729_.html) of the New York City Knicks is another NBA star plugging VGW's Global Poker<br>
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<br>Traditional online casinos are prohibited in all but 7 states, which has actually assisted to fuel the popularity of sweepstakes gambling establishments.<br>
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<br>Anyone over the age of 18 can access the sweepstakes sites, which do not need typically require identification. However, websites 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 clients to send [mail-in requests](https://lidoo.com.br/read-blog/14606_for-sports-gambling-to-be-legalised.html) for complimentary sweeps coins, [offered](http://ringturbine.com80/index.php/User:KaleyTomkinson) the gamers follow painfully particular guidelines. What's more, players are typically rewarded with sweeps coins merely for [signing](https://africasfaces.com/read-blog/5849_sweepstakes-casino-controversy-and-celebrities-039-all-important-role.html) up, thereby offering them a factor to attempt their hands at any number of casino video games for an opportunity to win - or lose - genuine money.<br>
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<br>So why are sweepstakes websites enabled to operate in 48 states, while online gambling establishments are prohibited in all however 7?<br>
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<br>According to the stakeholders, their product is the video gaming, and the real-stakes competitors is merely a method of [promoting](https://forum.webmark.com.tr/index.php?qa=60802&qa_1=for-sports-gambling-to-be-legalised) their bread and butter.<br>
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<br>'Social sweepstakes video games are merely a kind of online home entertainment,' an SPGA spokesperson informed DailyMail.com by email. 'No purchase is needed to play at social gambling establishments with sweepstakes rewards. Consumers never have to pay for a chance to win rewards. That absence of a purchase requirement - or" consideration" - is a crucial difference between social sweeps and standard online [sports betting](https://twoplustwoequal.com/read-blog/58966_how-to-attract-users-to-my-fantasy-sports-platform.html) sites like casinos.'<br>
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<br>Consider the manner in which McDonald's utilizes its annual Monopoly game to promote its food: Customers aren't paying to gamble, but rather they're purchasing hamburgers and french fries that use them the chance to win financially rewarding prizes, such as a $1 million prize.<br>
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<br>And without a purchase requirement, or 'factor to consider', the game itself doesn't meet the meaning of gaming in the US.<br>
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<br>'Sweepstakes are an enduring approach for promoting all type of daily organizations in the United States, whatever from burgers to magazine memberships to coffee and home improvement stores,' the SPGA spokesperson informed DailyMail.com. 'Sweepstakes promotions are regularly utilized by a who's who of home names like AT&T, Chase, Home Depot, Marriott, Starbucks, and Wal-Mart.'<br>
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<br>But to numerous [sports betting](https://tartar.app/read-blog/1669_things-you-need-to-understand-about-rafting-adventures.html) industry insiders, that argument doesn't cut it.<br>
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<br>For beginners, [video gaming](https://origintraffic.com/read-blog/1687_exploring-the-sports-betting-industry-putting-ideas-into-practice.html) attorney Daniel Wallach mentions, McDonald's Monopoly game does not run forever. Rather, it has a well-defined beginning and end, consequently suggesting the sweepstakes is not the fast-food giant's main item. Instead, the sweepstakes is being used to promote real items like fries, shakes, and the Filet-O-Fish.<br>
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<br>'They do not last forever and they're typically not tied to casino-style video games of opportunity,' Wallach told DailyMail.com. 'They're just money free gifts.<br>
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<br>'The sweepstakes [casinos] have none of the qualities frequently connected with McDonald's-style sweepstakes promotions,' Wallach continued. 'Besides running in perpetuity, the sweepstakes casinos use" casino-like" payouts, generally 80 percent or more of incomes, whereas the typical payment percentage for a short-lived advertising sweepstakes is an insignificant share of the earnings made by the company [typically less than one percent]'<br>
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<br>Wallach is fast to liken the [online social](https://18plus.fun/read-blog/17_the-ins-and-outs-of-betting-on-the-nfl-draft.html) sweeps gambling establishments to the web coffee shops that emerged in Florida, offering clients the opportunity to play casino-style games for genuine prizes. Much of those brick-and-mortar establishments have given that been shuttered over claims of prohibited gambling.<br>
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<br>DJ Khaled is among numerous celeb spokespeople for VGW's Global Poker brand name<br>
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<br>Now, Wallach argues, social sweeps gambling establishments ought to face comparable examination.<br>
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<br>'These differences are not approximate,' Wallach said of social sweeps gambling establishments. 'They have actually consistently been pointed out by courts and state attorney general of the United States as essential factors in identifying that a sweepstakes promotion was in reality a guise for illegal gaming.'<br>
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<br>One of the casino market's leading trade companies, the American Gaming Association, is now pushing lawmakers to investigate sweepstakes operators and, in many cases, enact brand-new legislation on the problem.<br>
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<br>'Consumers are being deprived of protections and states are forgoing substantial tax and earnings opportunities as this gaming changes that conducted through controlled channels,' read a well-circulated AGA memo.<br>
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<br>And then there are the complainants who have sued social gambling establishments in more than a dozen states.<br>
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<br>Sweepstakes gambling establishment operators paid a combined $14.2 million in 4 separate cases in Kentucky without confessing any wrongdoing, according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile VGW agreed to pay $11.75 million in one class-action lawsuit, saying the settlement was made to prevent legal costs 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 most recent claim, which is largely comparable to its predecessors, New York 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 named as offenders in claims for hosting the sweepstakes websites. But unlike VGW, neither tech company reacted to DailyMail.com's demand for comment.<br>
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<br>'We normally don't talk about matters before the courts,' a VGW spokesperson informed [DailyMail](https://uconnect.ae/read-blog/166689_how-to-play-bet9ja-online.html).com by means of email. 'However, we keep in mind 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 self-confidence in our compliance with all laws and [regulations](https://peoplesmedia.co/read-blog/12914_uk-betting-firms-gamble-on-united-states-after-sports-wager-ruling.html) where we run, and remain confident about the future,' the representative continued. 'We continue to provide our free-to-play video games across most of North America, as we have for more than a decade, producing not just great games, user experiences and entertainment, but likewise guaranteeing this is done safely, responsibly and at the highest level of requirements.<br>
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<br>'More broadly, we 'd repeat that class actions and other litigations and arbitrations are fairly typical throughout the online social video games market (and the US more broadly), and our basic practice is that we plan to intensely protect any claim which might be brought versus us.'<br>
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<br>The concerns in between conventional online [sports betting](https://zekond.com/read-blog/110704_uk-betting-firms-gamble-on-united-states-after-sports-wager-ruling.html) and sweepstakes gambling establishments might prove troublesome for some celebrity 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 while the NBA is partnered with conventional gaming titans like FanDuel and DraftKings.<br>
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<br>'It's ironic that professional athletes are hawking prohibited [sports betting](https://alumni.myra.ac.in/read-blog/148728_the-ins-and-outs-of-betting-on-the-nfl-draft.html) wagering 'sweeps' sites while at the very same time the leagues want to forecast a strong position against [prohibited](https://ifairy.world/read-blog/1355_the-history-of-the-nfl-and-how-to-bet-on-it.html) [sports betting](https://uptoscreen.com/read-blog/74329_why-every-cricket-fan-need-to-try-the-all-cricket-id-gaming-platform.html) - particularly when trying to tamp down the occasional gaming scandal,' Glaser told DailyMail.com.<br>
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<br>It was just eight months ago that Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter got a lifetime ban from the NBA over allegations he conspired with bettors. However, to be clear, Porter's scandal is unrelated to anything involving social or sweepstakes casinos.<br>
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<br>In addition to VGW, Apple and Google are being demanded hosting supposedly illegal gambling sites<br>
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<br>Regardless, Glaser sees sweepstakes gambling establishments as a significant problem for leagues such as the NBA.<br>
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<br>'I 'd expect that a league crackdown on professional athletes endorsing sweepstakes websites is a matter of when, not if,' Glaser included.<br>
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<br>Neither an NBA spokesman nor the gamers' agents reacted to DailyMail.com's ask for comment. For that matter, spokespeople for Drake, DJ Khaled, Hilton, Seacrest and Phelps also neglected to react to DailyMail.com e-mails.<br>
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<br>Asked if their celebrity endorsers have a duty to discuss to clients the differences and resemblances in between iGaming and sweepstakes casinos, VGW insisted there is nothing more that needs to be done.<br>
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<br>'We have complete confidence in our influencer and ambassadorial collaborations, and our company practices more broadly,' the spokesperson stated. 'A few of our worths are" our players 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 opponent of [sweepstakes](https://social.updum.com/read-blog/33_compare-amp-review-oddsjet-de.html) sites, sees things differently.<br>
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<br>'Celebrities who lend their names to dubious unlawful gambling sites are, at a minimum, putting their credibilities at threat in addition to courting civil and class actions by consumers who allege damage,' Glaser said. 'There is also some risk that state regulators and state chief law officers rope celeb endorsers into enforcement efforts for helping with prohibited [sports betting](https://www.athleticzoneforum.com/read-blog/753_sports-minister-tracey-crouch-resigns-over-039-hold-up-039-to-betting-crackdown.html).'<br>
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<br>New YorkNBADrakeParis Hilton<br>[bet9ja.com](https://register.bet9ja.com/?btag=yohaig&promocode=yohaig)
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