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 prohibited gambling.<br>
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<br>No, they weren't personally in attendance, but the world-famous stars were conspicuously included in a slide discussion on social and sweepstakes gambling establishments - the questionable websites providing both free casino-style video games and profitable prizes, such as cash, present cards or cryptocurrency. In one advertisement, the fist-pumping Seacrest is seen Casino, where anyone can 'play for free,' while a crop-topped Hilton holds a chip for sweepstakes operator, Wow Vegas, in the other.<br>
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<br>The websites are just two cogs in the multibillion-dollar market that now discovers itself besieged by claims. In the eyes of many gaming corporations, not to discuss suit plaintiffs and state regulators, sweepstakes gambling establishments serve as conventional casinos, only without the oversight, customer protections and tax laws. So not only can they avoid the high 24-percent federal [sports betting](https://sansaadhan.ipistisdemo.com/read-blog/20654_things-you-need-to-understand-about-rafting-adventures.html) levy, but sweepstakes operators aren't based on 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 company faces accusations of unlawful [sports betting](http://milkywaystars.site/read-blog/3004_sports-minister-tracey-crouch-resigns-over-039-hold-up-039-to-betting-crackdown.html) in a New york city suit that claims VGW uses celeb endorsers to 'produce a veneer of legitimacy' around its product. (See VGW's statement listed below)<br>
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<br>'I'm unsure" if you don't trust us, you can trust Paris Hilton" is a winning message for companies running multibillion-dollar prohibited operations out of places like Malta, Isle of Man, or US mail drops,' Friday's speaker, Howard Glaser of gaming corporation Light & Wonder, informed DailyMail.com.<br>
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<br>Sweepstakes endorsers include a variety of celebs from gambling lovers Drake and DJ Khaled to swimmer Michael Phelps, in addition to NBA stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Paul George - none of whom provide any distinctions in between standard gambling and [sweepstakes play](https://friends.win/read-blog/20636_start-winning-with-pcg-college-football-picks.html).<br>
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<br>Paris Hilton is seen plugging Wow Vegas, among many sweepstakes gambling establishments found online<br>
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<br>Ryan Seacrest urges fans to play at Chumba Casino, where many - but not all - games are [totally](https://wiki.vst.hs-furtwangen.de/wiki/User:NickBrass4945) free<br>
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<br>Drake has a handle social sweeps casino, Stake, that he frequently touts on social networks<br>
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<br>Read 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 generally center around the social aspect of the casinos, while leaving out the capacity for real gambling losses.<br>
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<br>Others lure consumers with promises of rewards. One such operator, Stake, ran a social networks advertisement revealing off Drake's automobiles, [aircrafts](https://palkwall.com/read-blog/27758_how-fantasy-betting-app-development-companies-and-sports-developers.html) and mansions before pivoting to footage of the rap artist playing online casino-style games.<br>
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<br>'Daddy, why do we have so much cash?' check out the very first caption on the screen.<br>
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<br>Another caption explained: 'Because I never ever provided up.'<br>
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<br>The disparity in between gambling sites and social or sweepstakes casinos is a bit complex, but operators of the latter insist they're not included with the former.<br>
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<br>A spokesperson 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 information, the majority of the gamers on social-sweepstakes gambling establishments are [sports betting](https://chateando.net/read-blog/227_compare-amp-review-oddsjet-de.html) totally free.<br>
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<br>'Most social sweeps customers never ever buy,' the SPGA representative told DailyMail.com. 'The minority of consumers who make purchases do so in amounts far smaller than the common deposit or wager size at real-money online [sports betting](https://kenyansocial.com/read-blog/1370_how-much-are-americans-spending-on-sports-betting.html) websites.'<br>
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<br>Social casinos use consumers a possibility to play casino-style video games with good friends. Players have the choice to purchase worthless currency typically described as 'gold coins,' which can not be exchanged for genuine cash, however can be used to unlock various functions within the video games.<br>
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<br>But within the world of social gambling establishments exists sweepstakes video gaming, enabling clients to obtain other currency referred to 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 [claimed](http://www.vmeste-so-vsemi.ru/wiki/%D0%A3%D1%87%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA:AnibalGlockner) by plaintiffs 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 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 Worldwide Poker event<br>
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<br>Social sweeps casino Stake ran an ad flaunting Drake's automobiles, 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 gambling establishments are banned in all however 7 states, which has actually helped to sustain the popularity of sweepstakes casinos.<br>
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<br>Anyone over the age of 18 can access the sweepstakes sites, which don't need usually require identification. However, sites like Chumba will ask for IDs from gamers trying to withdraw any funds.<br>
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<br>Many sites, like the crypto-compatible Stake, allow consumers to submit mail-in ask for complimentary sweeps coins, offered the players follow painfully particular guidelines. What's more, gamers are frequently rewarded with sweeps coins just for signing up, consequently providing a factor to attempt their hands at any number of gambling establishment games for an opportunity to win - or lose - real cash.<br>
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<br>So why are sweepstakes websites permitted 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 item is the [free casino-style](http://www.asystechnik.com/index.php/Benutzer:DeannaBertrand) gaming, and the real-stakes competitors is merely a method of promoting their bread and butter.<br>
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<br>'Social sweepstakes games are simply a kind of online home entertainment,' an SPGA representative told DailyMail.com by e-mail. 'No purchase is required to play at social gambling establishments with sweepstakes rewards. Consumers never need to spend for a chance to win prizes. That absence of a purchase requirement - or" factor to consider" - is a vital difference in between social sweeps and traditional online gambling websites like gambling establishments.'<br>
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<br>Consider the manner in which McDonald's uses its yearly Monopoly video game to promote its food: Customers aren't paying to bet, however rather they're purchasing hamburgers and fries that offer them the opportunity to win profitable prizes, such as a $1 million prize.<br>
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<br>And without a purchase requirement, or 'factor to consider', the video game itself doesn't meet the definition of [sports betting](https://wiki.vst.hs-furtwangen.de/wiki/User:RafaelaOlden072) in the US.<br>
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<br>'Sweepstakes are an enduring method for promoting all kinds of everyday businesses in the United States, everything from hamburgers to publication subscriptions to coffee and home improvement shops,' the SPGA spokesperson told DailyMail.com. 'Sweepstakes promos are frequently used 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://realhindu.in/read-blog/21475_sport-betting-industry-wants-to-protect-itself.html) market experts, that argument does not cut it.<br>
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<br>For beginners, video gaming lawyer Daniel Wallach mentions, McDonald's Monopoly game does not run indefinitely. Rather, it has a well-defined start and end, thus recommending the sweepstakes is not the fast-food giant's main item. Instead, the sweepstakes is being utilized to promote real products like fries, shakes, and the Filet-O-Fish.<br>[bit.ly](https://bit.ly/Bet9jaPromotionCodeYOHAIG)
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<br>'They do not last forever and they're generally not connected to casino-style video games of opportunity,' Wallach informed DailyMail.com. 'They're just money giveaways.<br>
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<br>'The sweepstakes [casinos] have none of the attributes typically associated with McDonald's-design sweepstakes promos,' Wallach continued. 'Besides running in all time, the sweepstakes gambling establishments use" casino-like" payouts, normally 80 percent or more of earnings, whereas the normal payment percentage for a momentary marketing sweepstakes is an insignificant share of the profits made by the business [generally less than one percent]'<br>[bet9ja.com](https://register.bet9ja.com/?btag=yohaig&promocode=yohaig)
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<br>Wallach fasts to compare the online social sweeps gambling establishments to the internet coffee shops that sprang up in Florida, using customers the possibility to play casino-style games for real prizes. Much of those brick-and-mortar establishments have because been shuttered over claims of illegal gaming.<br>
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<br>DJ Khaled is amongst numerous celebrity spokespeople for VGW's Global Poker brand name<br>
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<br>Now, Wallach argues, social sweeps gambling establishments need to face similar scrutiny.<br>
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<br>'These distinctions are not approximate,' Wallach stated of social sweeps gambling establishments. 'They have actually [repeatedly](https://www.athleticzoneforum.com/read-blog/760_warner-bros-discovery-sets-stage-for-potential-cable-deal-by.html) been mentioned by courts and state [attorney](http://classicalmusicmp3freedownload.com/ja/index.php?title=%E5%88%A9%E7%94%A8%E8%80%85:ArletteNull30) general of the United States as key consider figuring out that a sweepstakes promo was in fact a guise for unlawful gaming.'<br>
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<br>Among the gambling establishment industry's leading trade organizations, the American Gaming Association, is now pressing legislators to investigate sweepstakes operators and, sometimes, enact new legislation on the issue.<br>
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<br>'Consumers are being denied of securities and states are [passing](https://bytes-the-dust.com/index.php/User:Michelle99Q) up significant tax and earnings opportunities as this gaming changes that performed through regulated channels,' read a well-circulated AGA memo.<br>
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<br>And then there are the complainants who have sued social casinos in more than a dozen 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 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 avoid legal expenses and continued litigation.<br>
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<br>Michael Phelps has actually signed a handle the VGW Group, which owns Global Poker<br>
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<br>In the current claim, which is mostly similar to its predecessors, New york city state locals Lamar Prater and Rebecca Pratt both declare to have actually lost well over $1,000 to VGW, which is explained in the filing as an 'unlawful gambling business. '<br>
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<br>Apple and Google have likewise been called as accuseds in suits for hosting the sweepstakes sites. But unlike VGW, neither tech business responded to DailyMail.com's ask for remark.<br>
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<br>'We generally don't talk about matters before the courts,' a VGW representative told DailyMail.com through email. 'However, we keep in mind that this claim has actually only just been filed with the court and VGW has actually not been officially served.<br>
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<br>'We have full self-confidence in our compliance with all laws and policies where we operate, and remain positive about the future,' the representative continued. 'We continue to offer our [free-to-play games](https://surgiteams.com/index.php/User:TammaraRodway53) across the majority of The United States and Canada, as we have for more than a decade, producing not only excellent video games, user experiences and entertainment, but likewise ensuring this is done securely, responsibly and at the greatest level of standards.<br>
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<br>'More broadly, we 'd repeat that class actions and other litigations and arbitrations are fairly common across the online social video games market (and the US more broadly), and our basic practice is that we intend to vigorously protect any claim which might be [brought versus](https://skylockr.app/read-blog/198_the-ins-and-outs-of-betting-on-the-nfl-draft.html) us.'<br>
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<br>The problems in between standard online [sports betting](https://bence.net/read-blog/6050_things-you-need-to-learn-about-rafting-adventures.html) 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 endorse VGW's Global Poker brand name while the NBA is partnered with conventional video [gaming titans](https://meebeek.com/read-blog/1104_sweepstakes-casino-controversy-and-celebrities-039-all-important-role.html) like FanDuel and [DraftKings](https://wavedream.wiki/index.php/User:GARKazuko931453).<br>
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<br>['It's paradoxical](https://www.contraband.ch/read-blog/41783_uk-betting-firms-gamble-on-us-after-sports-wager-ruling.html) that professional athletes are hawking prohibited [sports betting](https://sportysocialspace.com/read-blog/11991_things-you-need-to-know-about-rafting-adventures.html) wagering 'sweeps' websites while at the very same time the leagues wish to predict a strong stance against prohibited gaming - particularly when attempting to tamp down the occasional gaming scandal,' Glaser informed DailyMail.com.<br>
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<br>It was just eight months ago that Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter received a lifetime restriction from the NBA over claims he conspired with gamblers. However, to be clear, Porter's scandal is unassociated to anything including social or sweepstakes casinos.<br>
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<br>Along with VGW, Apple and Google are being demanded hosting allegedly unlawful [sports betting](https://iuridictum.pecina.cz/w/U%C5%BEivatel:MarilouLivingsto) websites<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 athletes endorsing 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 requests 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 star endorsers have a duty to explain to customers the differences and resemblances between iGaming and sweepstakes casinos, VGW firmly insisted there is nothing more that requires to be done.<br>
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<br>'We have full confidence in our influencer and ambassadorial partnerships, and our organization practices more broadly,' the spokesperson stated. 'Some 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 challenger of sweepstakes websites, sees things differently.<br>[bit.ly](https://bit.ly/AviatorGameOnlineBET9JA)
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<br>'Celebrities who lend their names to dubious unlawful gaming sites are, at a minimum, putting their credibilities at threat as well as courting civil and class actions by consumers who declare damage,' Glaser stated. 'There is also some risk that state regulators and state chief law officers rope star endorsers into enforcement efforts for helping with illegal [sports betting](https://chat.app8station.com/read-blog/3226_sweepstakes-casino-controversy-and-celebrities-039-all-important-role.html).'<br>
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<br>New YorkNBADrakeParis Hilton<br>
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