commit 7a625b4fd7b92d08ff53bebabc164dbc6369e949 Author: willisgadsdon Date: Mon Dec 30 22:42:44 2024 +0100 Add Sweepstakes Casino Controversy - And Celebrities' All-important Role diff --git a/Sweepstakes Casino Controversy - And Celebrities%27 All-important Role.-.md b/Sweepstakes Casino Controversy - And Celebrities%27 All-important Role.-.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8af0d5d --- /dev/null +++ b/Sweepstakes Casino Controversy - And Celebrities%27 All-important Role.-.md @@ -0,0 +1,64 @@ +
The smiling faces of Paris Hilton and Ryan Seacrest made surprise appearances before the Louisiana Senate for Friday's hearing on unlawful gaming.
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No, they weren't personally in presence, but the world-famous celebrities were conspicuously included in a slide discussion on social and sweepstakes casinos - the questionable sites providing both totally free casino-style games and lucrative rewards, such as cash, gift cards or cryptocurrency. In one ad, 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.
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The sites are just 2 cogs in the multibillion-dollar market that now discovers itself besieged by claims. In the eyes of numerous gaming corporations, not to mention claim complainants and state regulators, sweepstakes gambling establishments function as standard gambling establishments, only without the oversight, customer securities and tax laws. So not only can they prevent the high 24-percent federal gambling levy, but sweepstakes operators aren't based on regulatory hurdles like anti-money laundering and responsible-gaming protections.
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One operator, Australia-based Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), reported $4 billion in earnings in 2015 alone. Now the business faces allegations of prohibited [sports betting](https://www.social.united-tuesday.org/read-blog/19461_how-to-attract-users-to-my-fantasy-sports-platform.html) in a New york city lawsuit that claims VGW uses celebrity endorsers to 'produce a veneer of authenticity' around its product. (See VGW's declaration below)
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'I'm unsure" if you don't trust us, you can trust Paris Hilton" is a winning message for companies running multibillion-dollar illegal operations out of locations like Malta, Isle of Man, or US mail drops,' Friday's speaker, Howard Glaser of video gaming corporation Light & Wonder, informed DailyMail.com.
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Sweepstakes endorsers consist of a variety of celebrities from [sports betting](https://unightlifetalk.site/read-blog/2618_how-are-betting-odds-calculated.html) enthusiasts Drake and DJ Khaled to swimmer Michael Phelps, along with NBA stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Paul George - none of whom offer any distinctions between standard gaming and sweepstakes play.
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Paris Hilton is seen plugging Wow Vegas, among lots of sweepstakes gambling establishments discovered online
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Ryan Seacrest urges fans to play at Chumba Casino, where lots of - but not all - video games are free
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Drake has a handle social sweeps casino, Stake, that he regularly touts on social networks
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Read More
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Donald Trump 'set to name NBA group owner as US ambassador to Italy'
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Instead, ads generally center around the social element of the gambling establishments, while omitting the potential for actual [sports betting](https://truthbook.social/read-blog/8348_how-are-betting-odds-calculated.html) losses.
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Others lure clients with guarantees of rewards. One such operator, Stake, ran a social networks ad showing off Drake's cars, planes and mansions before rotating to footage of the rap artist playing online casino-style video games.
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'Daddy, why do we have a lot cash?' read the first caption on the screen.
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Another caption described: 'Because I never quit.'
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The discrepancy between [sports betting](http://experienciacortazar.com.ar/wiki/index.php?title=Usuario:ManuelaMcclendon) sites and social or sweepstakes gambling establishments is a bit complex, however operators of the latter insist they're not included with the previous.
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A spokesperson for an industry trade group, the Social and Promotional Gaming Association (SPGA), discussed its members are not in direct competitors with online casinos and sportsbooks. Furthermore, according to SPGA information, many of the players on social-sweepstakes gambling establishments are [sports betting](https://clik.social/read-blog/19002_for-sports-gambling-to-be-legalised.html) complimentary.
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'Most social sweeps consumers never ever buy,' the SPGA spokesperson told DailyMail.com. 'The minority of clients who make purchases do so in quantities far smaller sized than the common deposit or bet size at real-money online [sports betting](https://www.tobeop.com/missouri-sports-betting-ballot-measure-approved-by-voters/) sites.'
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Social casinos use consumers a possibility to play casino-style video games with pals. Players have the choice to buy valueless currency typically described as 'gold coins,' which can not be exchanged genuine cash, however can be used to open different features within the video games.
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But within the world of social gambling establishments exists sweepstakes gaming, allowing customers to get other currency known as 'sweeps coins' that can be exchanged for cash or other prizes.
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And therein lies the capacity for monetary losses, like the ones declared by plaintiffs 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 past year after continuing to purchase more coins in pursuit of cash and other things of worth.
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The Philadelphia 76ers' Paul George is seen promoting an International Poker event
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Social sweeps gambling establishment Stake ran an advertisement displaying Drake's cars and trucks, airplanes and estates
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Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York City Knicks is another NBA star plugging VGW's Global Poker
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Traditional online gambling establishments are prohibited in all but seven states, which has helped to sustain the appeal of sweepstakes casinos.
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Anyone over the age of 18 can access the sweepstakes sites, which do not require generally require recognition. However, websites like Chumba will request for IDs from players attempting to withdraw any funds.
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Many sites, like the crypto-compatible Stake, allow consumers to submit mail-in ask for free sweeps coins, offered the players follow painfully specific guidelines. What's more, gamers are frequently rewarded with sweeps coins simply for signing up, thus providing a reason to attempt their hands at any number of casino games for a possibility to win - or lose - genuine money.
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So why are sweepstakes sites enabled to operate in 48 states, while online casinos are prohibited in all but 7?
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According to the stakeholders, their product is the totally free casino-style video gaming, and the real-stakes competitors is just a way of promoting their support.
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'Social sweepstakes games are merely a kind of online home entertainment,' an SPGA spokesperson told DailyMail.com by email. '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" consideration" - is an important distinction in between social sweeps and traditional online gaming websites like gambling [establishments](https://wiki.rrtn.org/wiki/index.php/User:AurelioNicoll).'
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Think about the method that McDonald's uses its yearly Monopoly game to promote its food: Customers aren't paying to bet, however rather they're buying hamburgers and fries that offer them the opportunity to win rewarding prizes, such as a $1 million jackpot.
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And without a purchase requirement, or 'factor to consider', the game itself doesn't meet the definition of gambling in the US.
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'Sweepstakes are a long-standing method for promoting all type of daily services in the United States, everything from burgers to publication memberships to coffee and home enhancement shops,' the SPGA representative informed DailyMail.com. 'Sweepstakes promos are routinely utilized by a who's who of family names like AT&T, Chase, Home Depot, Marriott, Starbucks, and Wal-Mart.'
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But to many gambling industry experts, that argument doesn't cut it.
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For beginners, video gaming lawyer Daniel Wallach mentions, McDonald's Monopoly video game does not run forever. Rather, it has a well-defined start and end, thus suggesting the sweepstakes is not the fast-food giant's primary item. Instead, the sweepstakes is being utilized to promote genuine items like french fries, shakes, and the Filet-O-Fish.
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'They do not last forever and they're usually not connected to casino-style games of opportunity,' Wallach told DailyMail.com. 'They're simply money giveaways.
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'The sweepstakes [casinos] have none of the attributes commonly associated with McDonald's-style sweepstakes promos,' Wallach continued. 'Besides running in all time, the sweepstakes casinos use" casino-like" payouts, typically 80 percent or more of revenues, whereas the normal payment percentage for a momentary advertising sweepstakes is an insignificant share of the earnings made by the business [usually less than one percent]'
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Wallach fasts to liken the online social sweeps gambling establishments to the internet cafes that emerged in Florida, using clients the opportunity to [play casino-style](https://melaninbook.com/read-blog/59385_uk-betting-firms-gamble-on-us-after-sports-wager-ruling.html) games for genuine prizes. A lot of those brick-and-mortar facilities have actually because been shuttered over allegations of prohibited [sports betting](https://bikapsul.com/read-blog/1451_sport-betting-industry-aims-to-protect-itself.html).
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DJ Khaled is among several celeb spokespeople for VGW's Global Poker brand
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Now, Wallach argues, social sweeps gambling establishments ought to face similar analysis.
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'These distinctions are not approximate,' Wallach said of social sweeps casinos. 'They have actually repeatedly been cited by courts and state lawyer generals as essential consider determining that a sweepstakes promo was in reality a guise for prohibited gaming.'
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Among the casino industry's leading trade organizations, the American Gaming Association, is now pressing legislators to examine sweepstakes operators and, sometimes, enact new legislation on the concern.
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'Consumers are being denied of defenses and states are giving up considerable tax and income chances as this [sports betting](https://realhindu.in/read-blog/21495_sports-minister-tracey-crouch-resigns-over-039-hold-up-039-to-betting-crackdown.html) replaces that carried out through regulated channels,' read a well-circulated AGA memo.
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And after that there are the complainants who have taken legal action against social casinos in more than a lots states.
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Sweepstakes casino operators paid a combined $14.2 million in four different cases in Kentucky without admitting 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 avoid legal expenses and continued lawsuits.
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Michael Phelps has signed an offer with the VGW Group, which owns Global Poker
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In the most recent suit, which is largely comparable to its predecessors, New York state residents Lamar Prater and Rebecca Pratt both claim to have lost well over $1,000 to VGW, which is explained in the filing as an 'illegal gaming [business](http://video.firstkick.live/read-blog/4647_exploring-the-sports-betting-industry-putting-ideas-into-practice.html). '
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Apple and Google have actually likewise been called as defendants in suits for hosting the sweepstakes sites. But unlike VGW, neither tech company responded to [DailyMail.com's](https://drapia.org/11-WIKI/index.php/User:JulianaHarp991) request for remark.
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'We generally don't talk about matters before the courts,' a VGW spokesperson informed [DailyMail](https://moonifie.com/read-blog/1407_just-how-much-are-americans-investing-in-sports-betting.html).com through 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.
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'We have full self-confidence in our compliance with all laws and regulations where we run, and remain positive about the future,' the spokesperson continued. 'We continue to use our free-to-play games across most of North America, as we have for more than a years, [producing](https://mxlinkin.mimeld.com/read-blog/699_sport-betting-industry-wants-to-protect-itself.html) not just fantastic games, user experiences and entertainment, however likewise ensuring this is done securely, properly and at the greatest level of standards.
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'More broadly, we 'd restate that class actions and other lawsuits and arbitrations are fairly common throughout the online social games market (and the US more broadly), and our basic practice is that we mean to strongly protect any claim which might be brought versus us.'
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The issues between standard online gambling and sweepstakes casinos might prove troublesome for some celeb endorsers.
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Towns, a star center with the Knicks, and the 76ers' George both back VGW's Global Poker brand name while the NBA is [partnered](http://woorichat.com/read-blog/10312_uk-betting-firms-gamble-on-united-states-after-sports-wager-ruling.html) with standard gaming titans like FanDuel and DraftKings.
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'It's paradoxical that expert athletes are hawking illegal [sports betting](https://pipewiki.org/wiki/index.php/User:BTOGabriel) wagering 'sweeps' sites while at the exact same time the leagues wish to forecast a strong stance versus unlawful gambling - specifically when attempting to tamp down the periodic gaming scandal,' Glaser informed DailyMail.com.
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It was just eight months ago that Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter got a [lifetime restriction](http://classicalmusicmp3freedownload.com/ja/index.php?title=%E5%88%A9%E7%94%A8%E8%80%85:RockyA1175332) 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.
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Along with VGW, Apple and Google are being sued for hosting presumably prohibited [sports betting](https://sundaycareers.com/read-blog/2624_sports-minister-tracey-crouch-resigns-over-039-delay-039-to-betting-crackdown.html) websites
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Regardless, Glaser sees sweepstakes casinos as a significant concern for leagues such as the NBA.
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'I 'd expect that a league crackdown on athletes backing sweepstakes sites is a matter of when, not if,' Glaser added.
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Neither an NBA representative nor the [players' agents](https://flowsocial.xyz/read-blog/577_the-history-of-the-nfl-and-how-to-bet-on-it.html) responded to DailyMail.com's requests for comment. For that matter, spokespeople for Drake, DJ Khaled, Hilton, Seacrest and Phelps also ignored to react to DailyMail.com e-mails.
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Asked if their celeb endorsers have a responsibility to explain to customers the differences and resemblances between iGaming and sweepstakes casinos, VGW insisted there is absolutely nothing more that requires to be done.
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'We have full self-confidence in our influencer and [ambassadorial](https://namesdev.com/read-blog/15190_sport-betting-industry-looks-to-protect-itself.html) collaborations, and our service practices more broadly,' the representative stated. 'A few of our worths are" our gamers come initially" and" we do what's right", and we put our worths at the core of everything we do.'
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Glaser, an outspoken challenger of sweepstakes sites, sees things in a different way.
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'Celebrities who lend their names to dubious prohibited [sports betting](https://bytes-the-dust.com/index.php/User:TwilaGoll341) sites 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 danger that state regulators and state attorney generals of the United States rope celebrity endorsers into enforcement efforts for helping with illegal gambling.'
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