Mississippi Senate Ban Impacts Sweepstakes Casinos and Online Gambling | 10BET
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Mississippi Senate Bans Online Gambling, Impacting Sweepstakes Casinos
- The Mississippi Senate has passed legislation to ban online sweepstakes websites
- Critics assert that online sweepstakes are just cleverly disguised illegal gambling platforms
- The sweeps industry maintains that they operate free-to-play games
On Tuesday, the Mississippi Senate made a historical move by becoming the first state legislative body to endorse a bill outlawing the controversial “sweeps” platforms, which critics argue engage in illegal online casino gambling. The phrase “Enter to win” is commonly associated with sweepstakes; however, the Mississippi Senate claims that when financial transactions are involved, such offers transform into illegal gambling.
Sweepstakes casinos, together with offshore gambling sites, have drawn ire from the highly regulated and legal gaming sector. Much like offshore platforms, the operations of sweepstakes sites are not subject to regulations ensuring fair play, often offer few consumer protections, and evade taxation.
In Jackson, the Mississippi Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 2510 with a vote of 44-1, with six members choosing to abstain. The only opposing voice was that of Senator Sollie Norwood (D-Jackson), who supports the regulation and taxation of online gaming platforms. He believes that such measures would serve the state’s better interests.
If approved by the Mississippi House of Representatives and signed by Governor Tate Reeves (R), SB 2510 would impose penalties on those running unauthorized gambling sites, with fines reaching up to AUD 100,000 and a potential ten-year prison sentence. Furthermore, charges for managing an illegal gambling website would escalate from a misdemeanor to a felony.
Senator Joey Fillingane, the author of the bill, emphasized the need to eliminate unlicensed gambling websites from Mississippi’s internet, as many users often do not realize they are violating the law due to the convincing appearance of these platforms.
Many Mississippians have no idea when they’re on their device that they’re breaking the law because it looks completely legitimate,” said Fillingane.
Only seven states in the US—Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia—currently permit online slot machines and table games.
Sweeping Change
Sweepstakes casinos market themselves as social gaming destinations or free-to-play platforms. Initially, they do offer new accounts a small number of gaming tokens for free, which can be used to engage with internet slot games and table games such as blackjack. However, players cannot win tangible money with these starting tokens. Once these credits are depleted, users may purchase secondary digital currencies known as “sweeps coins,” which can be wagered and later converted into cash through withdrawals.
Several reports, including a significant exposé by The Washington Post, have highlighted the detrimental financial impact consumers have faced after being tempted to play on well-known sites like Chumba, High 5, and Stake.
Mississippi lawmakers are not acting alone; similar legislation is being considered in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. Moreover, attorneys general in Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, and Washington have declared that such sweepstakes represent illegal gambling enterprises.
Recently, a federal jury found High 5 liable, ordering them to pay AUD 25 million in damages to players who suffered losses on their platform.
Sweeps Stake Defense
Defending their operations, sweepstakes casino operators argue that their “freemium” model distinguishes their activities from traditional gambling in that players are not technically betting real money. They contend that sweeps coins serve merely as entries into sweepstakes, similar to popular promotional contests like McDonald’s Monopoly.
For a company to offer such operations, they must provide opportunities to play free of charge.
The Social & Promotional Games Association expressed its disappointment regarding the Senate’s decision, stating, “SB 2510 unjustly targets sweepstakes and conflates a safe and legal form of entertainment with illegal activities. Social sweepstakes are free-to-play games that never mandate a purchase for players to win. They belong to an established industry of social casino games enjoyed by countless adults across America, and voters likely do not appreciate politicians dictating which games they can play on their devices. This is a transparent, misguided attempt to cater to the casino industry.”
