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

No, they weren't personally in attendance, however the world-famous celebrities were conspicuously consisted of in a slide discussion on social and sweepstakes casinos - the controversial websites using both complimentary casino-style video games and profitable prizes, such as cash, gift cards or cryptocurrency. In one ad, the fist-pumping Seacrest is seen plugging Chumba Casino, where anybody can 'play for complimentary,' while a crop-topped Hilton holds a chip for sweepstakes operator, Wow Vegas, in the other.
bet9ja.com
The sites are simply 2 cogs in the multibillion-dollar market that now finds itself besieged by lawsuits. In the eyes of lots of video gaming corporations, not to point out claim plaintiffs and state regulators, sweepstakes casinos serve as standard gambling establishments, only without the oversight, customer protections and tax laws. So not just can they avoid the steep 24-percent federal gaming levy, but sweepstakes operators aren't subject to regulative hurdles like anti-money laundering and responsible-gaming defenses.

One operator, Australia-based Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), reported $4 billion in income last year alone. Now the business deals with accusations of prohibited gambling in a New York suit that claims 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 companies running multibillion-dollar prohibited operations out of locations like Malta, Isle of Man, or US mail drops,' Friday's speaker, Howard Glaser of gaming corporation Light & Wonder, told DailyMail.com.

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 between traditional gambling and sweepstakes play.

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

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

Drake has a handle social sweeps casino, Stake, that he frequently promotes on social networks

Read More

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

Instead, advertisements generally focus around the social aspect of the casinos, while omitting the capacity for actual gambling losses.

Others tempt clients with guarantees of prizes. One such operator, Stake, ran a social networks advertisement flaunting Drake's cars, airplanes and estates before pivoting to footage of the rap artist playing online casino-style video games.

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

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

The disparity between gambling sites and social or sweepstakes casinos is a bit complicated, but operators of the latter insist they're not included with the former.

A representative for an industry trade group, the Social and Promotional Gaming Association (SPGA), described its members are not in direct competitors with online gambling establishments and sportsbooks. Furthermore, according to SPGA data, the majority of the players on social-sweepstakes gambling establishments are playing for totally free.

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

Social gambling establishments provide consumers a possibility to play casino-style games with good friends. Players have the alternative to buy valueless currency typically referred to as 'gold coins,' which can not be exchanged genuine cash, but can be used to open various features within the games.

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

And therein lies the potential for financial losses, like the ones claimed by complainants in Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and New York. One player informed the Washington Post he lost more than $100,000 on sweepstakes casinos in the past year after continuing to more coins in pursuit of money and other things of worth.

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

Social sweeps gambling establishment Stake ran an ad displaying Drake's automobiles, 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 banned in all however seven states, which has assisted to fuel the popularity of sweepstakes gambling establishments.

Anyone over the age of 18 can access the sweepstakes websites, which do not need typically need identification. However, websites like Chumba will request for IDs from players trying to withdraw any funds.

Many sites, like the crypto-compatible Stake, enable clients to submit mail-in ask for totally free sweeps coins, offered the players follow painfully specific guidelines. What's more, gamers are typically rewarded with sweeps coins simply for registering, thus offering them a factor to try their hands at any variety of gambling establishment video games for a possibility to win - or lose - genuine money.

So why are sweepstakes sites permitted to run in 48 states, while online casinos are banned in all however 7?

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

'Social sweepstakes games are simply a type of online home entertainment,' an SPGA spokesperson told DailyMail.com by e-mail. 'No purchase is needed to play at social casinos with sweepstakes rewards. Consumers never have to pay for an opportunity to win prizes. That absence of a purchase requirement - or" consideration" - is a crucial difference between social sweeps and standard online gambling websites like gambling establishments.'

Think about the way that McDonald's uses its annual Monopoly game to promote its food: Customers aren't paying to gamble, but rather they're purchasing hamburgers and french fries that offer them the possibility to win rewarding prizes, such as a $1 million jackpot.

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

'Sweepstakes are a long-standing method for promoting all kinds of daily companies in the United States, everything from burgers to publication subscriptions to coffee and home improvement stores,' the SPGA representative informed DailyMail.com. 'Sweepstakes promotions are frequently utilized by a who's who of family names like AT&T, Chase, Home Depot, Marriott, Starbucks, and Wal-Mart.'

But to numerous sports betting market experts, that argument doesn't cut it.

For beginners, video gaming lawyer Daniel Wallach points out, McDonald's Monopoly 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 product. Instead, the sweepstakes is being utilized to promote genuine items like french fries, shakes, and the Filet-O-Fish.

'They do not last permanently and they're normally not connected to casino-style games of possibility,' Wallach informed DailyMail.com. 'They're just money free gifts.

'The sweepstakes [casinos] have none of the attributes frequently related to McDonald's-design sweepstakes promos,' Wallach continued. 'Besides running in perpetuity, the sweepstakes gambling establishments provide" casino-like" payments, normally 80 percent or more of profits, whereas the normal payout portion for a momentary promotional sweepstakes is a trivial share of the earnings made by the company [usually less than one percent]'

Wallach is quick to compare the online social sweeps gambling establishments to the internet coffee shops that emerged in Florida, using customers the possibility to play casino-style video games for genuine rewards. A number of those brick-and-mortar facilities have given that been shuttered over allegations of prohibited gambling.

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

Now, Wallach argues, social sweeps gambling establishments ought to deal with comparable analysis.

'These distinctions are not arbitrary,' Wallach stated of social sweeps gambling establishments. 'They have repeatedly been mentioned by courts and state lawyer generals as key consider determining that a sweepstakes promotion remained in fact a guise for unlawful gambling.'

Among the casino industry's leading trade companies, the American Gaming Association, is now pressing legislators to examine sweepstakes operators and, in many cases, enact brand-new legislation on the issue.

'Consumers are being denied of securities and states are passing up significant tax and income opportunities as this gambling replaces that carried out through controlled channels,' read a well-circulated AGA memo.

And after that there are the complainants who have actually taken legal action against social casinos in more than a dozen states.

Sweepstakes casino operators paid a combined $14.2 million in 4 different cases in Kentucky without admitting any misbehavior, according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile VGW concurred to pay $11.75 million in one class-action claim, stating the settlement was made to avoid legal expenses and continued litigation.

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

In the current suit, which is mostly comparable to its predecessors, New York state homeowners 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 sports betting business. '

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

'We usually do not comment on matters before the courts,' a VGW spokesperson informed DailyMail.com by means of email. 'However, we note that this claim has actually only just been submitted with the court and VGW has not been formally served.

'We have complete self-confidence in our compliance with all laws and guidelines where we run, and stay confident about the future,' the representative continued. 'We continue to provide our free-to-play video games across the majority of North America, as we have for more than a decade, developing not only fantastic video games, user experiences and home entertainment, but also guaranteeing this is done safely, properly and at the greatest level of standards.

'More broadly, we 'd repeat that class actions and other lawsuits and arbitrations are reasonably typical throughout the online social games industry (and the US more broadly), and our basic practice is that we intend to vigorously safeguard any claim which might be brought versus us.'
bet9ja.com
The concerns between conventional online gambling and sweepstakes casinos could show bothersome for some celeb endorsers.

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

'It's paradoxical that expert athletes are hawking illegal sports betting 'sweeps' websites while at the very same time the leagues desire to predict a strong stance against illegal sports betting - particularly when attempting to tamp down the periodic gaming scandal,' Glaser told DailyMail.com.

It was simply 8 months ago that Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter got a lifetime restriction from the NBA over accusations he conspired with bettors. However, to be clear, Porter's scandal is unassociated to anything including social or sweepstakes casinos.

In addition to VGW, Apple and Google are being demanded hosting supposedly illegal gambling sites

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

'I 'd anticipate that a league crackdown on professional athletes endorsing sweepstakes sites is a matter of when, not if,' Glaser included.

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

Asked if their celeb endorsers have a responsibility to discuss to consumers the distinctions and similarities between iGaming and sweepstakes gambling establishments, VGW insisted there is nothing more that requires to be done.

'We have complete confidence in our influencer and ambassadorial partnerships, and our business practices more broadly,' the representative said. 'Some of our values are" our players precede" 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.
bit.ly
'Celebrities who provide their names to shady unlawful gaming websites are, at a minimum, putting their credibilities at threat as well as courting civil and class actions by consumers who declare damage,' Glaser said. 'There is also some danger that state regulators and state chief law officers rope star endorsers into enforcement efforts for facilitating illegal gambling.'

New YorkNBADrakeParis Hilton