The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) and the Attorney General’s Office have sent cease-and-desist letters to more than 60 entities that are believed to be operating illegally in the state. All recipients have received letters notifying them that they are operating online games of chance without the required licensing.
Key Takeaways
- Over 60 entities that are believed to be operating illegally have received cease-and-desist letters from the Illinois Gaming Control Board.
- Those who have received letters are suspected of offering online casino and/or sweepstakes without a license.
- This comes after Illinois implemented a per-wager tax on online sports betting last year, which has caused concerns from the SBA that it could drive bettors to illegal platforms.
Under Illinois law, gambling is limited to licensed riverboat casinos, land-based casinos, licensed race tracks, sportsbooks, and through video gaming licenses.
The recipients of the letters include both online casinos and sweepstakes platforms, which have been told to immediately block Illinois residents from accessing their sites, or to stop offering prizes in the state.
"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 IGB announced.
By offering the sites in Illinois, the operators are breaking the state's criminal law, and those who do not comply could face civil or criminal penalties.
Those who have received cease-and-desist orders include Stake.us, along with both Global Poker and Chumba Casino, which are owned by VGW. Both have left more than 10 states in the past year amid uncertainty around sweepstakes casino regulations spreading across the country.
The recipients of the letters include:
- ACE
- American Luck
- Chip n Win
- Chumba Casino
- Crown Coins Casino
- Fliff
- Fortune Coins
- Fortune Wheelz
- FreeSpin
- Global Poker
- Gold Rush City
- Gold Treasure Casino
- Golden Hearts Games
- GoldSlips
- Hello Millions
- High 5 Casino
- Legendz
- LuckyLand Slots
- McLuck Casino
- Splash Coins
- Sportzino
- Stake
- WOW Vegas
