Connecticut has become the next state in the US to ban sweepstakes casinos. The mostly unregulated form of gambling has come under massive scrutiny in recent months, with New York also banning it around the same time.
Connecticut lawmakers have been attempting to ban sweepstakes casinos for the past few months, with little resistance. Even the final vote on bringing the law to fruition saw a 146-0 vote, with only five not available to add to the landslide.
Sweepstakes casinos have come under scrutiny due to their operating methods. While those running the show claim they’re not gambling, a lot of sweepstakes casinos use things like slots or other casino games to enter people into the sweepstakes. There’s also little protection for those who might be gambling themselves.
Rather than buy into each game, you purchase tokens in bundles. These are split into the typically named “gold coins” and “sweep coins”, with the sweep coins allowing players to play in money games. There’s no limit to what you can buy, leading to gambling addicts potentially being in danger.
On top of this, as a vast majority of sweepstakes casinos are unregulated in the US, each state sees no kickbacks from taxes through earnings.
Connecticut sweepstakes ban comes into play July 1
The new law comes into play on July 1, and those operating in the state will face legal repercussions. Of course, there are permissions for regular businesses to use sweepstakes as a concept.
One example given outright are grocery stores, who will not be prohibited from “conducting or promoting a sweepstakes that uses a simulated gambling device, provided such sweepstakes is related to the sale of groceries, the prize is not redeemed or redeemable for cash and the prize is only used as a discount to reduce the price of items purchased from such retail grocery chain.”
At the start of June, Connecticut settled with an operator, High 5 Entertainment, which not only pulled out of the state but paid up $1.5 million after breaking the law.
