New York Cracks Down on 26 Sweepstakes Casinos

New York Attorney General Letitia James and the New York State Gaming Commission have sent cease-and-desist letters to 26 sweepstakes casino operators.

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and the Gaming Commission identified numerous sites using Sweeps Coins. The State has active legislation in the works that will specifically ban sweepstakes casinos, but the Attorney General has decided the existing laws are strong enough to banish the casinos from the state.

New York’s OAG and Gaming Commission have publicly listed all 26 flagged casinos and urged players to stop using them immediately.

The sites targeted include Chanced, Chumba, DingDingDing, Fliff, Fortune Coins, Fortune Wheelz, Funrize, FunzCity, Global Poker,Golden Hearts Games, High 5 Casino, Jackpota, Luckyland, McLuck, Mega Bonanza, NoLimitCoins, Play Fame, RealPrize, Sidepot, SpinBlitz, Sportzino, SweepSlots, Sweeptastic, TaoFortune, Yay Casino, and Zula Casino.

Attorney General James said: “Online sweepstakes casinos are illegal, dangerous and can seriously ruin people’s finances. I thank the Commission and Senator Addabbo for partnering with my office on this issue to protect New Yorkers.”

Commission Takes Strong Stance

Brian O’Dwyer, Chairman of the New York State Gaming Commission, blasted the sweepstakes platforms, branding them “unscrupulous, unsecure and unlawful.” He added, “I have been very vocal about the need to crack down on these operations. I am thrilled the attorney general has taken this significant step to eradicate the illegal gambling market. We encourage those of age who wish to gamble to do so with legal operators.”