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

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 controversial sites using both complimentary casino-style video games and financially rewarding rewards, such as cash, gift cards or cryptocurrency. In one ad, the fist-pumping Seacrest is seen plugging Chumba Casino, where anyone can 'bet totally free,' while a crop-topped Hilton holds a chip for sweepstakes operator, Wow Vegas, in the other.
bet9ja.com
The websites are simply 2 cogs in the multibillion-dollar market that now discovers itself besieged by suits. In the eyes of lots of video gaming corporations, not to discuss claim complainants and state regulators, sweepstakes casinos function as conventional casinos, only without the oversight, customer defenses and tax laws. So not just can they avoid the high 24-percent federal sports betting levy, but sweepstakes operators aren't based on regulatory hurdles like anti-money laundering and responsible-gaming protections.
bet9ja.com
One operator, Australia-based Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), reported $4 billion in income in 2015 alone. Now the business deals with accusations of prohibited sports betting in a New york city lawsuit that claims VGW utilizes celeb endorsers to 'develop a veneer of authenticity' around its item. (See VGW's statement listed below)

'I'm uncertain" if you don't trust us, you can trust Paris Hilton" is a winning message for companies operating 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 & Wonder, informed DailyMail.com.
bet9ja.com
Sweepstakes endorsers include a series of stars from gambling lovers Drake and DJ Khaled to swimmer Michael Phelps, along with NBA stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Paul George - none of whom provide any distinctions in between conventional gambling and sweepstakes play.

Paris Hilton is seen plugging Wow Vegas, among many sweepstakes gambling establishments discovered online

Ryan Seacrest advises fans to dip into Chumba Casino, where many - but not all - video games are free

Drake has a deal with social sweeps casino, Stake, that he frequently touts on social networks

Read More

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

Instead, advertisements usually focus around the social element of the gambling establishments, while leaving out the potential for actual gaming losses.

Others lure customers with promises of rewards. One such operator, Stake, ran a social networks advertisement revealing off Drake's automobiles, aircrafts and estates before rotating to footage of the rap artist playing online casino-style video games.

'Daddy, why do we have so much money?' check out the first caption on the screen.

Another caption discussed: 'Because I never quit.'

The discrepancy in between gaming websites and social or sweepstakes gambling establishments is a bit intricate, however operators of the latter insist they're not involved with the previous.

A spokesperson for a market 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, many of the players on social-sweepstakes gambling establishments are playing for complimentary.

'Most social sweeps consumers never ever make a purchase,' the SPGA spokesperson told DailyMail.com. 'The minority of customers who make purchases do so in amounts far smaller sized than the common deposit or bet size at real-money online gambling sites.'

Social gambling establishments offer customers a possibility to play casino-style games with pals. Players have the choice to buy worthless currency frequently described as 'gold coins,' which can not be exchanged for real money, but can be used to unlock different functions within the games.

But within the world of social gambling establishments exists sweepstakes gaming, enabling clients to obtain other currency referred to as 'sweeps coins' that can be exchanged for cash or other rewards.

And therein lies the capacity for financial losses, like the ones declared by plaintiffs in Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and New York City. 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 worth.
bit.ly
The Philadelphia 76ers' Paul George is seen promoting a Global Poker event

Social sweeps casino Stake ran an advertisement showing off Drake's vehicles, airplanes and mansions

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

Traditional online gambling establishments are prohibited in all but seven states, which has actually helped to sustain the popularity of sweepstakes gambling establishments.
bet9ja.com
Anyone over the age of 18 can access the sweepstakes websites, which do not need normally need recognition. However, sites like Chumba will request IDs from gamers attempting to withdraw any funds.

Many sites, like the crypto-compatible Stake, enable consumers to submit mail-in demands for complimentary sweeps coins, supplied the gamers follow painfully specific guidelines. What's more, gamers are often rewarded with sweeps coins just for registering, thus providing a factor to try their hands at any variety of casino games for a possibility to win - or lose - genuine money.

So why are sweepstakes websites allowed to run in 48 states, while online casinos are prohibited in all but 7?

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

'Social sweepstakes games are just a type of online entertainment,' an SPGA spokesperson informed DailyMail.com by e-mail. 'No purchase is needed to play at social gambling establishments with sweepstakes rewards. Consumers never need to spend for an opportunity to win rewards. That absence of a purchase requirement - or" consideration" - is an important difference in between social sweeps and standard online sports betting sites like gambling establishments.'

Think of the manner in which 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 use them the possibility to win profitable prizes, such as a $1 million jackpot.

And without a purchase requirement, or 'consideration', the video game itself doesn't satisfy the meaning of gaming in the US.

'Sweepstakes are a long-standing technique for promoting all type of everyday businesses in the United States, whatever from burgers to magazine subscriptions to coffee and home enhancement shops,' the SPGA spokesperson told DailyMail.com. 'Sweepstakes promos are routinely utilized by a who's who of home names like AT&T, Chase, Home Depot, Marriott, Starbucks, and Wal-Mart.'

But to numerous gambling industry insiders, that argument doesn't cut it.

For beginners, gaming lawyer Daniel Wallach mentions, McDonald's Monopoly video game doesn't run indefinitely. Rather, it has a distinct beginning and end, consequently suggesting the sweepstakes is not the fast-food giant's primary item. Instead, the sweepstakes is being utilized to promote real products like french fries, shakes, and the Filet-O-Fish.

'They don't last permanently and they're usually not connected to casino-style video games of chance,' Wallach informed DailyMail.com. 'They're simply money free gifts.

'The sweepstakes [gambling establishments] have none of the attributes frequently connected with McDonald's-style sweepstakes promotions,' Wallach continued. 'Besides running in perpetuity, the sweepstakes casinos use" casino-like" payments, normally 80 percent or more of revenues, whereas the normal payment percentage for a momentary advertising sweepstakes is a trivial share of the income earned by the company [typically less than one percent]'

Wallach fasts to compare the online social sweeps gambling establishments to the web cafes that sprang up in Florida, providing customers the possibility to play casino-style video games for genuine rewards. A number of those brick-and-mortar facilities have actually since been shuttered over allegations of unlawful gambling.

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

Now, Wallach argues, social sweeps gambling establishments ought to face similar examination.

'These differences are not arbitrary,' Wallach said of social sweeps gambling establishments. 'They have consistently been pointed out by courts and state lawyer generals as key consider figuring out that a sweepstakes promo remained in fact a guise for illegal sports betting.'

Among the gambling establishment trade companies, the American Gaming Association, is now pressing legislators to investigate sweepstakes operators and, in some cases, enact brand-new legislation on the concern.

'Consumers are being deprived of securities and states are passing up significant tax and revenue opportunities as this sports betting replaces that conducted through controlled channels,' checked out a well-circulated AGA memo.

And after that there are the complainants who have sued social casinos in more than a lots states.

Sweepstakes gambling establishment operators paid a combined $14.2 million in 4 separate cases in Kentucky without confessing any misdeed, according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile VGW concurred to pay $11.75 million in one class-action lawsuit, stating the settlement was made to avoid legal expenses and continued lawsuits.

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

In the current claim, which is largely similar to its predecessors, New York state citizens Lamar Prater and Rebecca Pratt both claim to have actually lost well over $1,000 to VGW, which is described in the filing as an 'prohibited sports betting enterprise. '

Apple and Google have actually 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 comment.

'We usually do not comment on matters before the courts,' a VGW representative informed DailyMail.com through email. 'However, we note that this claim has actually only simply been filed with the court and VGW has not been officially served.

'We have complete self-confidence in our compliance with all laws and policies where we operate, and remain confident about the future,' the spokesperson continued. 'We continue to provide our free-to-play games throughout the majority of North America, as we have for more than a years, producing not only fantastic games, user experiences and entertainment, however also ensuring this is done safely, responsibly and at the highest level of standards.

'More broadly, we 'd restate that class actions and other litigations and arbitrations are relatively typical throughout the online social video games industry (and the US more broadly), and our standard practice is that we intend to vigorously safeguard any claim which may be brought versus us.'

The issues in between conventional online gaming and sweepstakes gambling establishments could show troublesome for some celebrity endorsers.

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 standard video gaming titans like FanDuel and DraftKings.

'It's paradoxical that professional athletes are hawking prohibited sports betting wagering 'sweeps' websites while at the exact same time the leagues want to predict a strong position against prohibited gaming - particularly when attempting to tamp down the periodic sports betting scandal,' Glaser told DailyMail.com.

It was just 8 months ago that Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter received a life time ban from the NBA over allegations 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 sued for hosting apparently illegal gambling websites
bet9ja.com
Regardless, Glaser sees sweepstakes casinos as a major issue for leagues such as the NBA.

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

Neither an NBA spokesman nor the players' representatives reacted to DailyMail.com's requests for comment. For that matter, spokespeople for Drake, DJ Khaled, Hilton, Seacrest and Phelps also overlooked to react to DailyMail.com e-mails.

Asked if their celebrity endorsers have a responsibility to explain to clients the distinctions and similarities between iGaming and sweepstakes gambling establishments, VGW insisted there is nothing more that needs to be done.

'We have complete confidence in our influencer and ambassadorial partnerships, and our business practices more broadly,' the spokesperson said. '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 opponent of sweepstakes websites, sees things in a different way.

'Celebrities who provide their names to shady prohibited gaming sites are, at a minimum, putting their reputations at danger along with courting civil and class actions by customers who declare harm,' Glaser said. 'There is likewise some threat that state regulators and state chief law officers rope celeb endorsers into enforcement efforts for assisting in unlawful gaming.'

New YorkNBADrakeParis Hilton