The first known sweepstakes casino to adjust its offerings in Illinois since the state sent out a barrage of cease-and-desists in early February has emerged.
In its most recent update to its terms and conditions, Smiles Casino added Illinois to its list of restricted markets. It’s a full platform shutdown for Smiles Casino, which ceases operations for both Gold Coin play and Sweeps Coin play in markets it pulls out of.
Illinois joins a robust list of excluded jurisdictions for Smiles Casino, alongside:
- Arizona
- California
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Idaho
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Utah
- Washington
Smiles Casino did receive a cease-and-desist
On Feb. 5, the Illinois Gaming Board announced that, in coordination with the state Attorney General’s office, it had issued cease-and-desist orders to more than 60 sweepstakes gaming and offshore betting sites.
And Smiles Casino was, indeed, one of the many sweeps casinos to receive a cease-and-desist.
“The Illinois Gaming Board (the “IGB”) has reason to believe that Smiles Casino is engaged in the operation of an illegal online casino in violation of the Illinois Criminal Code 720 ILCS 5/28- 1(a)(12),” the cease-and-desist letter read, in part. “On [no date included], the IGB observed that you offered Illinois users the ability to play slots (“Games”) through both the internet and mobile devices. The Games gave users the opportunity to win cash, gift cards, and other prizes in violation of Illinois law.”
The deluge of cease-and-desists in Illinois marked the largest known presence of such orders in any market in the United States. Last June, Louisiana issued cease-and-desists to more than 30 operators and, earlier that month, New York announced it had shut down 26 operators with cease-and-desist orders.
Illinois’ 60-plus such orders just about doubled both of those totals.
And that move from Illinois — announcing those cease-and-desists — came just one month after the IGB issued an exclusive statement to Sweepsy, saying:
“The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) works to maintain the integrity and safety of Illinois gambling. Unlicensed sweepstakes operators and other forms of illegal gambling are not welcome in Illinois. The IGB will continue to evaluate all available regulatory and law enforcement tools to respond to illegal gambling and protect Illinois patrons.”
What to expect moving forward in Illinois
Even though they are technically a weaker enforcement action compared to legislation, rarely do notable sweepstakes operators not respond in due time to these cease-and-desist orders, especially when they’re tied to the Attorney General’s office, as is the case in Illinois.
Included among the well-known sweeps casinos to receive cease-and-desist letters in Illinois are Chanced, Chumba Casino, Fliff, Fortune Coins, Funzpoints, Hello Millions, High 5 Casino, JefeBet, Legendz, LuckyLand Slots, Modo.us, Pulsz, RealPrize, Spree, Stake.us, WOW Vegas, and Zula Casino.
It’s becoming more and more common, though, for states to simply turn off their Sweeps Coin gameplay instead of closing down their entire platform.
Sweeps Coin gameplay is what’s at issue for these jurisdictions trying to restrict sweeps casinos. Even though players cannot directly purchase Sweeps Coins and can get them for free in a variety of ways, the fact that they can be redeemed for real money has put them at the heart of the debate over the legality of sweeps gaming in the U.S.
Gold Coin gameplay, meanwhile, is just social casino gaming — the same type of digital gameplay offered by Light & Wonder’s SciPlay apps, and Light & Wonder is one of the most vocal and staunch opponents of sweeps casinos right now.
So, while Smiles Casino pulled everything out of Illinois, expect many of the other platforms to adjust their offerings in Illinois to only shut down Sweeps Coin gameplay.
We wouldn’t be surprised to see operators who did not receive cease-and-desists also make changes in Illinois. It’s not uncommon for a platform to see a significant presence of cease-and-desists, sense the risk of operating in that jurisdiction, and leave on their own.
