The sound you hear? That’s the sound of droves of sweepstakes casino operators packing their bags and leaving Illinois, or at least significantly modifying their offerings.
Followers of Sweepsy’s coverage knew that this day was coming, when Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul would fire off the cease-and-desist letters, giving these sweepstakes casinos an ultimatum: Cease operation in the state or face penalties.
That day arrived on Feb. 5, when the Illinois Gaming Board announced that, in coordination with the Attorney General’s office, they’d issued “more than 60 cease-and-desist letters to entities believed to be operating illegal online casino and/or online sweepstakes gaming platforms.”
“The letters notify recipients that the IGB has reason to believe they are offering games of chance over the internet that award money or other things of value without the required licensure, in violation of Illinois criminal law,” the statement continued.
The letters, which were available on the IGB’s website, inform the sweepstakes casinos that they are “engaged in the operation of an illegal online casino in violation of the Illinois Criminal Code,” and that they would face penalties if they do not “block Illinois residents from accessing your services or discontinue offering cash, gift cards, and other prizes through your service.”
Illinois looking to ‘hold illegal operators accountable’
“Illegal online gambling operations threaten consumer protections, undermine responsible gaming safeguards, and are antithetical to the public’s interest in regulated gaming,” Illinois Gaming Board Administrator Marcus D. Fruchter said in the press release. “The IGB will continue to evaluate all available regulatory and law enforcement tools to combat illegal gambling and to protect Illinoisans.”
“The law is clear: Gambling in Illinois must be properly licensed and regulated,” Raoul added. “Unlicensed gaming operators put Illinois consumers at risk and undermine the integrity of our regulated gaming market. We will continue to work with the Illinois Gaming Board to protect our residents and hold illegal operators accountable.”
At the start of the year, a spokesperson for the IGB told Sweepsy exclusively that “unlicensed sweepstakes operators and other forms of illegal gambling are not welcome in Illinois.”
Sweepstakes operators in the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance and throughout the industry have long maintained they do not belong in the same category as offshore operators like Bovada, in part because they employ responsible gaming and consumer protections that they claim match or exceed those used by iGaming platforms.
Which sweeps casinos are affected?
The Illinois AG’s Office issued C&D letters to the following:
- ACE
- American Luck
- Cazino
- Chanced
- Chip n Win
- Chumba Casino
- Click
- Cluck
- Crown Coins Casino
- Dara Casino
- Fliff
- Fortune Coins
- Fortune Wheelz
- FreeSpin
- Funrize
- FunzCity
- Funzpoint
- Global Poker
- Gold Rush City
- Gold Treasure Casino
- Golden Hearts Games
- GoldSlips
- Hello Millions
- High 5 Casino
- Jackpot Go
- Jackpot Rabbit
- Jackpota Casino
- JefeBet
- JuicyPopSlots (Brovada)
- Jumbo 88
- Kickr
- Lavish Luck
- Legendz
- LoneStar Casino
- LuckyLand Slots
- LuckySlots.us
- McLuck Casino
- Mega Bonanza
- Modo
- Moonspin
- No Limit
- PlayFame
- Pulsz
- Punt
- RealPrize
- Rolla
- RuneWager
- Shuffle.us
- Sixty6
- Smiles Casino
- SpinBlitz
- Splash Coins
- Sportzino
- Spree Casino
- Stake (stake.us)
- StormRush
- Sweepshark
- SweepsLasVegas.com
- Tao Fortune
- The Money Factory
- ToraTora Casino
- WOW Vegas
- Yay Casino
- Zito Box
- Zula Casino
In its C&D letters and statements, the IGB made it clear that the state of Illinois only allows gambling on “licensed riverboat casinos, land-based casinos holding an owner’s license, racetracks with organizational gaming licenses, sportsbooks licensed under the Sports Wagering Act, and video gaming licensees under the Video Gaming Act.”
In early January, Tora Tora Casino notified its users that it would shut down, citing state regulations. Evolution, another vendor behind many popular titles at sweepstakes casinos, pulled its games from Illinois, cutting off access to games at Spinquest Casino.
Sweepsy also learned at the time that that Modo.us blocked players from Illinois from their games.
Potential for real-money iGaming in Illinois?
Currently, real-money iGaming is not legal in Illinois, but that could change. Illinois State Representative Edgar Gonzalez Jr. wants to legalize iGaming. On Feb. 2, he introduced House Bill 4797. The bill would allow internet gaming through entities already licensed under Illinois’s gambling laws (existing casinos, racetrack owners, licensed riverboat gambling establishments). Each licensee may have three individually branded online gaming skins.
Licensing fees total $250,000, with $100,000 due upon renewal. The bill would also impose a 25% privilege tax on adjusted gross gaming revenue.
HB4797 has a broad definition of internet gaming, but it also includes regulations and consumer protections that help such bills pass. Operators would have to impose deposit and wagering limits, and it would also support self-exclusion — meaning they wouldn’t try to keep people playing when they wanted to stop.
It also gives the Illinois Gaming Board the power to oversee market regulation and enforcement.
However, Illinois is not gung-ho for iGaming. The legislature has considered similar bills for the past three legislative sessions. They usually stall over policy disagreements with lawmakers who fear that iGaming would take a bite out of the state’s brick-and-mortar gaming industry.
