USA
Louisiana is emerging as the next state to legalize online casinos. Sharp criticism aimed towards sweepstakes operators with calls for a nationwide crackdown on operators. I’ll examine that and other exciting news items relevant to players, bettors, and industry professionals.
TLDR: a Bite-sized Overview:
- Louisiana is making progress with online casino legislation. Senator Kirk Talbot is instrumental in making online casinos a reality in Louisiana. He is leading preliminary discussions within the Senate and called for an analysis of the potential impact of online casino gaming in the state, scheduled for October.
- Sweepstakes casinos are accused of offering online casino gaming through loopholes in US laws. AGA released a memo calling for a crackdown on sweepstakes operators.
- Sweepstakes operator Sweepslots faced public backlash from industry peers and customers due to dubious business practices. Reports were made that Sweepslots has failed to pay over $1 million in compensation to affiliate partners.
- DraftKings announced a sports betting surcharge in high-tax states but cancelled its plans after only two weeks. Everyone complained, and no other sportsbooks announced that they would add surcharges, which caused DraftKings to reverse its decision.
- Netflix launched their first online slot game in the United States. Netflix started capitalizing on their intellectual properties through Squid Game—One Lucky Day, available in select online casinos like Tropicana in New Jersey.
- A New Jersey player won the largest jackpot in online casino history: $6,450,023. With 27% in taxes, the winner is left with approximately $4.7 million.
Louisiana Senate To Analyze the Potential Impact of Online Casino Gaming
Louisiana policymakers are expected to convene for preliminary discussions about the legalization of online casinos in the coming weeks, along with a Senate analysis of the impact of online casino gaming later this year.
It’s not surprising that Louisiana is likely to pass online casino legislation. The state has a well-established brick-and-mortar gambling environment and legalized online sports betting in 2021. One of the most pro-gambling politicians in Louisiana is Senator Kirk Talbot. He was responsible for submitting a bill requesting a comprehensive study investigating the positive and negative effects of online casino gaming to help the Senate make an informed decision about legislation. The study will explore regulatory aspects and financial impact and is set to commence in October.
However, despite being a progressive state, there are a couple of roadblocks to clear on the way. There are fears that online casinos would take away revenue from brick-and-mortar casinos, impacting employment rates as thousands of employees work for land-based establishments. There are also concerns about problem gambling, and a number of conservative, anti-gambling policymakers are likely to oppose legalization. The current legislative process is expected to be concluded in April 2025, meaning that any online casino legislation is at least eight months away.
Calls for Stricter Sweepstakes Regulations Around the US
The American Gaming Association (AGA) is the latest organization to question the legality of sweepstakes casinos. Last month, they circulated a memo that we took part in, calling for a complete crackdown on sweepstakes operators.
Specifically, AGA requests an investigation into companies that offer casino-styled gaming under the “sweepstakes” model, which many consider a loophole for providing online casino services in states where traditional online casinos are illegal.
Another problematic aspect of sweepstakes casinos is that most operators accept people who are 18 years old, compared to regular online casinos, where the legal age is 21. One operator recently changed their minimum age requirement to 21, possibly to position themselves more favorably in the eyes of regulators if there is a crackdown on the sweepstakes industry.
The state of Michigan legalized online casinos in 2019, and last year, after decisively banning sweepstakes casinos, the Gaming Control Board sent several cease-and-desist letters to sweepstakes operators to kick them out of the state. Given the increased pressure from around the legalized gambling industry, it’s likely that more states will follow in Michigan’s footsteps.
Operator Sweepslots Failing to Pay $1 Million to Affiliate Partners
On the back of AGA’s call for a crackdown, sweepstakes operator Sweepslots was put in the limelight for all the wrong reasons: failing to pay affiliate commissions to partners foreshadowed by broken promises and deceptive actions. The amount owed differs by affiliate, with partners owed commissions varying from several hundred to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Alongside failed payments to partners, some customers have complained about withdrawals and questionable account management. Other users reported that redemptions took longer than usual, with fears about Sweepslots keeping them from redeeming their winnings.
DraftKings Goes Cold Turkey on Sports Betting Surcharges
DraftKings embodied the Socially Awkward Penguin meme last month when they announced that they’d impose a surcharge on winning bets in high-tax U.S. states, only to scrap the idea two weeks later.
The surcharge never went into effect, as it was planned to go live on January 1, 2025. The logic behind the decision was to mitigate the high taxes in certain states, such as New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.
Critics didn’t mince their words on forums and social media:
What’s likely to have happened is that DraftKings hoped that other operators would follow suit and implement similar surcharges, a new industry standard. When no one did, they made a 180 to avoid losing market shares.
Netflix Debuts Their First Online Slot in the United States
Last year, Netflix inked its first product-licensing deal in the gambling industry with the game “Squid Game—One Lucky Day,” based on the South Korean dystopian survival thriller television series. The game went live in Europe and the UK earlier this year and finally saw a state-side release last month.
The game first made its US premiere at a land-based casino in Califonia, the Yaamava Resort & Casino at San Manuel, a tribal casino owned by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. The game can also be played at select online casinos partnered with the game provider Light & Wonder, such as Tropicana in New Jersey, where you can try it for free through demo play.
Squid Game—One Lucky Day marks an exciting milestone for Netflix and the casino industry with the potential of interactive games based on popular franchises like Stranger Things and Wednesday.
Largest US Jackpot Win in Online Casino History
Just because huge progressive slots like Mega Moolah aren’t available in the United States doesn’t mean US players can’t win big. Last month, BetMGM reported that a US player won the largest jackpot in online casino history at $6,450,023.
The player hit the jackpot on a $200 bet while playing Fruit Blaster, part of BetMGM’s pool of progressive jackpot games. After paying taxes, the lucky Garden State resident who hit the jackpot will be left with $4.7 million. Besides the massive cash injection, BetMGM is sending the winner to a luxurious MGM Resorts International property in Las Vegas or one closer to New Jersey.
After hitting the jackpot, BetMGM’s jackpot pool, called “The Big One,” was reset and is now worth over $1.2 million.