It was only about a year ago, Erik says, that he started gambling online. He wagered just $10 or $20 at first but soon found himself putting up hundreds of dollars at a time — money, he says, he couldn’t afford to lose.
Published: November 28, 2024
The 'sweepstakes' games that look a lot like online gambling
The ‘sweepstakes’ games that look a lot like online gambling
Millions of Americans are betting real money on online casino games marketed as “sweepstakes.” Users, regulators and the casino industry are fighting back.
Make sure to use a #10 envelope and black ink, or no free Sweeps Coins for you!
Shades of Woodward & Bernstein:
“Sweepstakes casino WOW Vegas invites players to send a letter with specific instructions — only black ink, a No. 10 envelope — to 1445 Woodmont Lane, a one-story gray house on a residential street tucked in an otherwise industrial area of northwest Atlanta. A sign out front identifies the home as the location for PhysicalAddress.com, a company that provides physical addresses to third-party companies.”
“The person who answered the door one recent afternoon declined to identify himself or herself and said they could not confirm whether WOW Vegas used the address.”
“People can use this address to file their business with the state,” the person said, “so that’s why they say they’re here, but they’re not.”
Asked whether they could provide contact information for a WOW Vegas representative, the person said, “I can’t tell you.” Emails sent to a company media representative were not returned.
“Chumba and LuckyLand use a post office box in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Pulsz has a P.O. Box in Manchester, New Hampshire, as do McLuck and Rolling Riches. Sweeptastic has a box at a shipping and mailing business in Amherst, New York, while Stake.us uses a similar business in Dallas.”
https://lnkd.in/eMcBiv99
Daniel Wallach
U.S. Gaming Law and Sports Betting Attorney
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/11/27/social-casino-sweeps-chumba/