bet9ja.com
The smiling faces of Paris Hilton and Ryan Seacrest made surprise appearances before the Louisiana Senate for Friday's hearing on illegal gaming.

No, they weren't personally in presence, but the world-famous celebs were notably included in a slide discussion on social and sweepstakes gambling establishments - the controversial sites providing both totally free casino-style games and financially rewarding rewards, such as cash, gift cards or cryptocurrency. In one advertisement, the fist-pumping Seacrest is seen plugging Chumba Casino, where anybody can 'bet complimentary,' while a crop-topped Hilton holds a chip for sweepstakes operator, Wow Vegas, in the other.

The sites are simply two cogs in the multibillion-dollar market that now finds itself besieged by lawsuits. In the eyes of lots of gaming corporations, not to mention lawsuit plaintiffs and state regulators, sweepstakes casinos serve as standard casinos, only without the oversight, customer defenses and tax laws. So not only can they prevent the high 24-percent federal sports betting levy, however sweepstakes operators aren't subject to regulatory obstacles like anti-money laundering and responsible-gaming defenses.
bet9ja.com
One operator, Australia-based Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), reported $4 billion in earnings last year alone. Now the company faces accusations of prohibited gambling in a New york city suit that declares VGW uses star endorsers to 'create a veneer of authenticity' around its product. (See VGW's statement listed below)

'I'm unsure" if you don't trust us, you can rely on Paris Hilton" is a winning message for business running 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.

Sweepstakes endorsers consist of a series of celebrities from sports betting lovers Drake and DJ Khaled to swimmer Michael Phelps, along with NBA stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Paul George - none of whom offer any differences in between traditional gaming and sweepstakes play.

Paris Hilton is seen plugging Wow Vegas, among lots of sweepstakes gambling establishments found online

Ryan Seacrest prompts fans to play at Chumba Casino, where numerous - however not all - games are free

Drake has a handle social sweeps casino, Stake, that he regularly promotes on social media

Read More

Donald Trump 'set to name NBA group owner as US ambassador to Italy'

Instead, advertisements usually center around the social element of the casinos, while omitting the potential for actual gambling losses.

Others lure consumers with pledges of rewards. One such operator, Stake, ran a social media advertisement displaying Drake's vehicles, aircrafts and mansions before rotating to footage of the rapper playing online casino-style video games.

'Daddy, why do we have a lot cash?' read the first caption on the screen.

Another caption explained: 'Because I never ever provided up.'

The disparity between sports betting websites and social or sweepstakes gambling establishments is a bit complicated, however operators of the latter insist they're not included with the former.

A spokesperson for an industry trade group, the Social and Promotional Gaming Association (SPGA), discussed its members are not in direct competitors with online gambling establishments and sportsbooks. Furthermore, according to SPGA data, most of the gamers on social-sweepstakes gambling establishments are sports betting free.

'Most social sweeps customers never purchase,' the SPGA representative informed DailyMail.com. 'The minority of clients who make purchases do so in quantities far smaller than the normal deposit or bet size at real-money online gambling websites.'

Social casinos use clients a chance to play casino-style video games with friends. Players have the option to purchase worthless currency typically referred to as 'gold coins,' which can not be exchanged genuine cash, however can be utilized to open numerous features within the games.

But within the world of social casinos exists sweepstakes video gaming, permitting customers to obtain other currency called 'sweeps coins' that can be exchanged for money or other rewards.

And therein lies the capacity for monetary losses, like the ones declared by complainants in Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and New York. One player informed the Washington Post he lost more than $100,000 on sweepstakes gambling establishments in the past year after continuing to purchase more coins in pursuit of cash and other things of worth.

The Philadelphia 76ers' Paul George is seen promoting an International Poker event

Social sweeps gambling establishment Stake ran an ad displaying Drake's cars, aircrafts and mansions

Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks is another NBA star plugging VGW's Global Poker

Traditional online gambling establishments are prohibited in all but 7 states, which has helped to fuel the appeal of sweepstakes gambling establishments.
bet9ja.com
Anyone over the age of 18 can access the sweepstakes sites, which do not need usually need recognition. However, sites like Chumba will request IDs from gamers trying to withdraw any funds.

Many sites, like the crypto-compatible Stake, allow clients to send mail-in ask for totally free sweeps coins, supplied the players follow painfully specific directions. What's more, gamers are often rewarded with sweeps coins simply for signing up, thereby offering them a reason to attempt their hands at any number of gambling establishment games for a chance to win - or lose - genuine cash.

So why are sweepstakes sites enabled to operate in 48 states, while online gambling establishments are prohibited in all but 7?

According to the stakeholders, their item is the totally free casino-style gaming, and the real-stakes competition is merely a means of promoting their support.

'Social sweepstakes video games are simply a form of online home entertainment,' an SPGA spokesperson told DailyMail.com by e-mail. 'No purchase is needed to dip into social gambling establishments with sweepstakes rewards. Consumers never have to spend for a chance to win prizes. That lack of a purchase requirement - or" factor to consider" - is an essential distinction in between social sweeps and standard online gambling websites like casinos.'

Think of the manner in which McDonald's utilizes its yearly Monopoly game to promote its food: Customers aren't paying to gamble, however rather they're purchasing hamburgers and french fries that use them the possibility to win financially rewarding rewards, such as a $1 million prize.

And without a purchase requirement, or 'factor to consider', the video game itself does not fulfill the meaning of gambling in the US.

'Sweepstakes are a long-standing method for promoting all type of daily organizations in the United States, whatever from hamburgers to magazine memberships to coffee and home enhancement stores,' the SPGA spokesperson informed DailyMail.com. 'Sweepstakes promotions are routinely used by a who's who of home names like AT&T, Chase, Home Depot, Marriott, Starbucks, and Wal-Mart.'

But to many gambling industry experts, that argument does not cut it.

For starters, video gaming lawyer Daniel Wallach explains, McDonald's Monopoly game doesn't run forever. Rather, it has a distinct beginning and end, thus suggesting the sweepstakes is not the fast-food giant's main item. Instead, the sweepstakes is being utilized to promote genuine products like fries, shakes, and the Filet-O-Fish.

'They do not last permanently and they're typically not tied to casino-style games of chance,' Wallach informed DailyMail.com. 'They're just gifts.

'The sweepstakes [casinos] possess none of the qualities frequently related to McDonald's-style sweepstakes promotions,' Wallach continued. 'Besides running in perpetuity, the sweepstakes casinos provide" casino-like" payouts, generally 80 percent or more of earnings, whereas the common payout percentage for a short-term promotional sweepstakes is a minor share of the income made by the business [typically less than one percent]'

Wallach is fast to liken the online social sweeps gambling establishments to the internet coffee shops that emerged in Florida, providing customers the possibility to play casino-style games for genuine rewards. Many of those brick-and-mortar establishments have given that been shuttered over claims of illegal gambling.

DJ Khaled is among several star spokespeople for VGW's Global Poker brand

Now, Wallach argues, social sweeps gambling establishments need to face similar analysis.

'These differences are not approximate,' Wallach stated of social sweeps gambling establishments. 'They have repeatedly been mentioned by courts and state attorney generals as crucial aspects in figuring out that a sweepstakes promotion remained in reality a guise for prohibited sports betting.'

Among the gambling establishment market's leading trade companies, the American Gaming Association, is now pressing legislators to examine sweepstakes operators and, in some cases, enact new legislation on the problem.

'Consumers are being deprived of defenses and states are giving up considerable tax and earnings chances as this gambling changes that carried out through managed channels,' read a well-circulated AGA memo.

And then there are the plaintiffs who have sued social casinos in more than a dozen states.

Sweepstakes casino operators paid a combined $14.2 million in four separate cases in Kentucky without confessing any misdeed, according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile VGW accepted pay $11.75 million in one class-action claim, saying the settlement was made to avoid legal costs and continued litigation.

Michael Phelps has signed a deal with the VGW Group, which owns Global Poker

In the current claim, which is mostly comparable to its predecessors, New york city state locals Lamar Prater and Rebecca Pratt both claim to have lost well over $1,000 to VGW, which is described in the filing as an 'unlawful sports betting business. '

Apple and Google have also been called as defendants in lawsuits for hosting the sweepstakes sites. But unlike VGW, neither tech company reacted to DailyMail.com's request for comment.

'We usually don't comment on matters 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 filed with the court and VGW has not been formally served.

'We have full confidence in our compliance with all laws and regulations where we run, and stay confident about the future,' the representative continued. 'We continue to provide our free-to-play games across many of The United States and Canada, as we have for more than a years, developing not only terrific video games, user experiences and entertainment, however also guaranteeing this is done securely, responsibly and at the greatest level of standards.

'More broadly, we 'd restate that class actions and other litigations and arbitrations are reasonably common across the online social games market (and the US more broadly), and our standard practice is that we intend to strongly defend any claim which might be brought versus us.'

The issues in between traditional online sports betting and sweepstakes gambling establishments might prove problematic for some celebrity endorsers.

Towns, a star center with the Knicks, and the 76ers' George both back VGW's Global Poker brand while the NBA is partnered with traditional gaming titans like FanDuel and DraftKings.

'It's paradoxical that expert athletes are hawking unlawful sports betting wagering 'sweeps' sites while at the exact same time the leagues want to forecast a strong stance versus prohibited gaming - especially when attempting to tamp down the periodic gambling scandal,' Glaser informed DailyMail.com.

It was just eight months ago that Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter got a life time restriction from the NBA over accusations he conspired with gamblers. However, to be clear, Porter's scandal is unassociated to anything involving social or sweepstakes casinos.

In addition to VGW, Apple and Google are being taken legal action against for hosting presumably unlawful gambling websites

Regardless, Glaser sees sweepstakes gambling establishments as a major concern for leagues such as the NBA.

'I 'd expect that a league crackdown on athletes endorsing sweepstakes websites refers when, not if,' Glaser included.

Neither an NBA spokesperson nor the players' agents reacted to DailyMail.com's ask for remark. For that matter, spokespeople for Drake, DJ Khaled, Hilton, Seacrest and Phelps also ignored to respond to DailyMail.com emails.

Asked if their celebrity endorsers have an obligation to explain to clients the distinctions and resemblances in between iGaming and sweepstakes gambling establishments, VGW firmly insisted there is nothing more that needs to be done.

'We have full confidence in our influencer and ambassadorial partnerships, and our service practices more broadly,' the spokesperson stated. 'Some of our worths are" our players come first" and" we do what's right", and we put our worths at the core of whatever we do.'

Glaser, an outspoken challenger of sweepstakes sites, sees things in a different way.

'Celebrities who lend their names to dubious unlawful sports betting websites are, at a minimum, putting their track records at risk as well as courting civil and class actions by consumers who declare damage,' Glaser said. 'There is likewise some danger that state regulators and state attorney generals of the United States rope celeb endorsers into enforcement efforts for assisting in prohibited gaming.'

New YorkNBADrakeParis Hilton