The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) is targeting 33 offshore gambling operators for offering online casino games, sweepstakes-style games, and sports betting to state residents without authorization.
- Michigan’s gambling regulator issued 33 cease-and-desist letters to offshore operators offering unlicensed gambling services.
- Some of the operators include Azartzona Casino, Cryptoplay, Genie Jackpot, L0tt0, Lucky Charm Sweep, Magicianbet, Sloto Tribe, and SunnySpins Casino.
- Unlicensed sites may lack safeguards such as deposit limits and independent game testing, and may let self-excluded individuals gamble.
In its cease-and-desist announcement, the MGCB warned that customers using unlicensed sites may miss out on protections available through regulated operators, including self-exclusion, deposit limits, responsible gambling tools, independent game testing, and safeguards for personal information. They may also struggle to recover funds if a site refuses to pay winnings or closes an account.
The regulator also flagged risks for those on Michigan’s self-exclusion list. While regulated operators must honor these bans, unlicensed offshore sites do not check the state database - allowing self-excluded individuals to still open accounts and place bets.
“These 33 letters put operators on notice that our residents are not an untapped market, and that anyone who thinks they can ignore our protections will hear from us,” MGCB executive director Henry Williams said.
Some of the 33 operators named in the MGCB’s cease-and-desist letters include BingoMania, BitofGold, Donbet, Exclusive Casino, iWild Casino, JacksPay, mBit Casino, Raging Bull Slots, Regal Casino and Sportsbook, Slot Paradise, Sloto’Cash Casino, Stardust, and The Online Casino.
State gambling law requires operators to obtain a license from the MGCB before offering Michigan online casino games or sports betting. Operators that fail to comply with the letters could face additional enforcement action from the Michigan Department of Attorney General.
The MGCB announced in April that it had sent cease-and-desist letters to 45 offshore gambling operators over a four-month period.
Florida AG sues sweeps operators
Michigan’s action comes as other U.S. states are moving against sweepstakes casinos, with Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filing lawsuits against sweepstakes companies Stake and VGW.
Uthmeier alleges that Stake and VGW use a dual-currency sweepstakes model to offer illegal gambling.
he lawsuits target Stake and VGW, whose brands include Chumba Casino, LuckyLand and Global Poker. Florida is seeking permanent injunctions to prevent the companies from operating in the state. Payment processors Worldpay, Trustly, Praxis, and Breeze Labs are also named in the lawsuits.
Florida is also seeking to recover consumer losses, impose civil penalties, and reclaim profits allegedly obtained through unlawful activity.
