bet9ja.com
The smiling faces of Paris Hilton and Ryan Seacrest made surprise looks before the Louisiana Senate for Friday's hearing on prohibited sports betting.

No, they weren't personally in attendance, however the world-famous stars were conspicuously included in a slide presentation on social and sweepstakes gambling establishments - the controversial websites using both totally free casino-style games and rewarding rewards, such as cash, present cards or cryptocurrency. In one advertisement, the fist-pumping Seacrest is seen Casino, where anyone can 'bet free,' while a crop-topped Hilton holds a chip for sweepstakes operator, Wow Vegas, in the other.
bit.ly
The sites are just two cogs in the multibillion-dollar market that now finds itself besieged by lawsuits. In the eyes of numerous gaming corporations, not to discuss lawsuit plaintiffs and state regulators, sweepstakes gambling establishments serve as standard gambling establishments, only 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 subject to regulatory difficulties like anti-money laundering and responsible-gaming protections.

One operator, Australia-based Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), reported $4 billion in earnings in 2015 alone. Now the company deals with accusations of unlawful sports betting in a New York claim that declares VGW utilizes celeb endorsers to 'create a veneer of authenticity' around its item. (See VGW's declaration listed below)

'I'm not exactly sure" if you do not 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 speaker, Howard Glaser of video gaming corporation Light & Wonder, told DailyMail.com.

Sweepstakes endorsers consist of 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 provide any distinctions between standard sports betting and sweepstakes play.

Paris Hilton is seen plugging Wow Vegas, one of numerous sweepstakes casinos found online

Ryan Seacrest prompts fans to dip into Chumba Casino, where many - however not all - video games are totally free

Drake has a deal with social sweeps gambling establishment, Stake, that he frequently promotes on social media

Find out more

Donald Trump 'set to call NBA team owner as US ambassador to Italy'

Instead, ads normally center around the social element of the casinos, while omitting the capacity for real gambling losses.

Others lure customers with guarantees of rewards. One such operator, Stake, ran a social media advertisement displaying Drake's vehicles, planes and estates before pivoting to video footage of the rap artist playing online casino-style games.

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

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

The disparity between gambling websites and social or sweepstakes gambling establishments is a bit complex, but operators of the latter insist they're not involved with the previous.

A spokesperson for an industry trade group, the Social and Promotional Gaming Association (SPGA), explained its members are not in direct competition with online gambling establishments and sportsbooks. Furthermore, according to SPGA information, most of the players on social-sweepstakes casinos are sports betting complimentary.

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

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

But within the world of social casinos exists sweepstakes gaming, enabling consumers to obtain other currency known as 'sweeps coins' that can be exchanged for cash or other prizes.

And therein lies the capacity for financial losses, like the ones declared by complainants in Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and New York. One gamer informed 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 value.

The Philadelphia 76ers' Paul George is seen promoting a Worldwide Poker occasion

Social sweeps gambling establishment Stake ran an advertisement revealing off Drake's cars and trucks, planes and estates

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 however seven states, which has actually helped to sustain the popularity of sweepstakes casinos.

Anyone over the age of 18 can access the sweepstakes websites, which don't require generally require identification. However, websites like Chumba will request for IDs from players trying to withdraw any funds.

Many websites, like the crypto-compatible Stake, allow clients to send mail-in ask for free sweeps coins, supplied the gamers follow painfully particular instructions. What's more, gamers are often rewarded with sweeps coins just for registering, consequently providing a reason to try their hands at any number of gambling establishment games for a possibility to win - or lose - genuine money.

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

According to the stakeholders, their item is the complimentary casino-style video gaming, and the real-stakes competition is just a method of promoting their bread and butter.

'Social sweepstakes games are just a kind of online home entertainment,' an SPGA representative told DailyMail.com by e-mail. 'No purchase is required to play at social casinos with sweepstakes rewards. Consumers never need to pay for a chance to win prizes. That lack of a purchase requirement - or" factor to consider" - is a vital distinction between social sweeps and conventional online gambling websites like casinos.'

Think of the way that McDonald's uses its annual Monopoly video game to promote its food: Customers aren't paying to gamble, but rather they're buying hamburgers and french fries that provide them the opportunity to win lucrative prizes, such as a $1 million prize.

And without a purchase requirement, or 'consideration', the game itself doesn't meet the meaning of sports betting in the US.

'Sweepstakes are an enduring technique for promoting all type of everyday companies in the United States, everything from burgers to magazine subscriptions to coffee and home enhancement stores,' the SPGA spokesperson 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.'

But to lots of gambling industry insiders, that argument doesn't cut it.
bet9ja.com
For starters, video gaming attorney Daniel Wallach explains, McDonald's Monopoly video game does not run forever. Rather, it has a well-defined start and end, thereby suggesting the sweepstakes is not the fast-food giant's main item. Instead, the sweepstakes is being used to promote real products like french fries, shakes, and the Filet-O-Fish.

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

'The sweepstakes [casinos] have none of the characteristics commonly associated with McDonald's-design sweepstakes promos,' Wallach continued. 'Besides running in eternity, the sweepstakes gambling establishments use" casino-like" payouts, usually 80 percent or more of profits, whereas the normal payout percentage for a short-lived marketing sweepstakes is a trivial share of the profits earned by the business [normally less than one percent]'

Wallach is quick to compare the online social sweeps casinos to the internet coffee shops that sprang up in Florida, using consumers the opportunity to play casino-style video games for real prizes. A lot of those brick-and-mortar establishments have given that been shuttered over allegations of prohibited gaming.

DJ Khaled is amongst a number of celebrity spokespeople for VGW's Global Poker brand

Now, Wallach argues, social sweeps casinos should face similar examination.

'These distinctions are not arbitrary,' Wallach stated of social sweeps casinos. 'They have actually repeatedly been mentioned by courts and state chief law officer as key factors in identifying that a sweepstakes promotion remained in fact a guise for unlawful sports betting.'

One of the gambling establishment market's leading trade companies, the American Gaming Association, is now pressing lawmakers to examine sweepstakes operators and, sometimes, enact new legislation on the issue.
bet9ja.com
'Consumers are being deprived of protections and states are giving up considerable tax and profits chances as this sports betting changes that performed through regulated channels,' checked out a well-circulated AGA memo.

And then there are the complainants who have actually sued social gambling establishments in more than a lots states.

Sweepstakes casino operators paid a combined $14.2 million in 4 separate cases in Kentucky without confessing any wrongdoing, according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile VGW consented to pay $11.75 million in one class-action lawsuit, stating the settlement was made to prevent legal costs and continued lawsuits.

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

In the current suit, which is largely comparable to its predecessors, New York state citizens Lamar Prater and Rebecca Pratt both declare to have actually lost well over $1,000 to VGW, which is described in the filing as an 'unlawful gambling business. '

Apple and Google have actually likewise been named as offenders in lawsuits for hosting the sweepstakes websites. But unlike VGW, neither tech business reacted to DailyMail.com's demand for comment.

'We typically do not talk about matters before the courts,' a VGW representative informed DailyMail.com via email. 'However, we note that this claim has only just been filed with the court and VGW has actually not been formally served.

'We have complete self-confidence in our compliance with all laws and policies where we operate, and remain positive about the future,' the spokesperson continued. 'We continue to offer our free-to-play video games across the majority of The United States and Canada, as we have for more than a decade, producing not only great video games, user experiences and home entertainment, but likewise ensuring this is done securely, responsibly and at the greatest level of requirements.

'More broadly, we 'd reiterate 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 strongly defend any claim which may be brought versus us.'

The problems in between conventional online sports betting and sweepstakes casinos might show bothersome for some celeb endorsers.

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

'It's paradoxical that professional athletes are hawking unlawful sports betting 'sweeps' sites while at the exact same time the leagues wish to project a strong position against unlawful gaming - specifically when attempting to tamp down the occasional gaming scandal,' Glaser informed DailyMail.com.

It was just 8 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 involving social or sweepstakes gambling establishments.

Together with VGW, Apple and Google are being sued for hosting allegedly prohibited sports betting sites

Regardless, Glaser sees sweepstakes casinos as a significant concern for leagues such as the NBA.

'I 'd anticipate that a league crackdown on professional athletes backing sweepstakes sites refers when, not if,' Glaser added.

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

Asked if their celebrity endorsers have a responsibility to discuss to clients the differences and similarities between iGaming and sweepstakes casinos, VGW firmly insisted there is absolutely nothing more that needs to be done.

'We have full self-confidence in our influencer and ambassadorial partnerships, and our business practices more broadly,' the representative said. 'A few of our values are" our players come initially" and" we do what's right", and we put our values at the core of everything we do.'

Glaser, an outspoken opponent of sweepstakes websites, sees things in a different way.
bit.ly
'Celebrities who lend their names to dubious unlawful sports betting websites are, at a minimum, putting their reputations at threat along with courting civil and class actions by consumers who allege damage,' Glaser said. 'There is likewise some risk that state regulators and state attorney generals of the United States rope star endorsers into enforcement efforts for assisting in prohibited sports betting.'

New YorkNBADrakeParis Hilton
bet9ja.com