A Louisiana Senate committee advanced a bill that would prohibit online sweepstakes gaming in the Pelican State, yet another jurisdiction in an ever-lengthening list of states that have introduced legislation to do so.
Sen. Adam Bass presented Senate Bill 181 to the Senate Judiciary B Committee on Tuesday, calling the proposal a byproduct of collaboration between his Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee and Judiciary B.
“I’ve introduced this legislation,” Bass said, “to combat the proliferation of illegal online casinos, which are ripping off Louisiana citizens.
“Louisiana residents are conned into wagering an estimated $4.5 billion on the black market on websites each year, including so-called sweepstakes casinos, which claim to simply be a sweepstakes contest but are in fact unregulated and untaxed gambling.”
Sweepstakes ban garners ‘unusual’ support from Louisiana gambling industry
The bill, introduced earlier this month, would amend state laws regarding gambling in the state, specifically toward “unregulated and untaxed gambling.”
Under the proposal, the state could take aim not only at the operators of online sweepstakes casinos but also at employees, geolocations providers, gaming manufacturers, platform providers, investors, promoters and media affiliates. To put it more simply: Everyone attached will be subject to the law, which would levy fines ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 and potentially up to five years in prison.
Like many – if not all – other state proposals around the country, Bass emphasized that online sweepstakes operators evade consumer protection requirements, as well those regarding responsible gaming and anty-money laundering that all other legally licensed operators in Louisiana must abide.
Bass added that users have reported not having access to money they accrued with their sweeps accounts. “And most disturbing,” he added, “there are no prohibitions against minors playing these games. Again, there is no age verification.”
What’s more, Bass said, online sweepstakes platforms “present unfair competition” to Louisiana’s legal casinos. As such, all licensed and regulated operators in the state have united to support the bill, which Howard Glaser called “unique.”
“It’s very unusual to get that uniform support across the board,” testified Glaser, the global head of government affairs and legislative counsel at Light & Wonder, “as well as the responsible gaming advocates that are concerned about consumer play and having them protected as well.”
Bass clarifies that bill will not affect legitimate promotions
As has become the norm, the Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) issued a statement when the bill was first introduced earlier this month, saying that the proposal “recklessly misclassifies legitimate sweepstakes as illegal gambling.”
Due to this, the SPGA continued, “[t]his misguided legislation endangers lawful businesses and sends a chilling message to investors, jeopardizing Louisiana’s burgeoning tech sector.”
The SPGA highlighted sweepstakes promotions from fast-food chains and hotels, which Bass expressly addressed on Tuesday.
“I want to say, regardless of what you’ve heard, this bill does not affect legitimate promotions, such as McDonald’s Monopoly, Starbucks or Marriott rewards,” Bass said. “This bill narrowly defines sweepstakes casinos. We know the gaming control board and attorney general have no interest in going after Starbucks or Marriott or McDonald’s and are solely focused on putting an end to sweepstakes casinos in this state.”
A dozen states have now considered sweepstakes ban
Bass also highlighted the growing list of states that have issued seen bills introduced to thwart online sweepstakes casinos, citing Connecticut, which pressed over 1,000 criminal charges against High 5 Games while also suspending the operator’s license.
All told, 12 states have considered such legislation, most recently Montana and Arkansas. Six states, the senators said, have also issued cease-and-desist letters, including most recently in Arizona.
(It should be noted that neighboring Mississippi watched as its Senate bill, which reached the House for concurrence, died in conference after the House attempted to amend the bill to include the legalization of online sports betting.)
Taking all of these attempts into account, Bass assured that Senate Bill 181 “will force illegal operators out of our state and provide a powerful deterrent to offshore and domestic illegal online gaming operators from entering this state.”
Glaser: Online sweepstakes operators using residents as ATMs
For his part, which he has done in front of other committees across the country, Glaser pointed out that the only opposition Louisiana lawmakers would hear would come from those online sweepstakes operators, “and there’s none here today.”
Echoing that those platforms do not adhere to anti-money laundering and consumer protection requirements, Glaser said that sweeps operators are “using Louisiana residents, really, as an ATM to suck money out of the state for untaxed, unlicensed gambling.
“This bill will give enhanced powers to the [Louisiana] Gaming Control Board, to the state police, to the attorney general; they’ve done a great job with the tools that they have. But you don’t want Louisiana to be an outlier from other states that are cracking down, because then you become a center for illegal gambling.”
In closing, Bass took out his phone, noting that he was sent opposition on Tuesday morning. At the bottom, he read aloud a promotion from Wow Vegas.
“That’s of this morning,” Bass said again. “My kids could have read about my bill and had the opportunity to gamble online. That absolutely shows that we need this legislation.”
