Exploring the Push for Legalizing Sweepstakes Betting in the U.S.

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00:00Explain to me about this sweepstakes that they're trying to get legalized.

00:07Exactly what is this?

00:08I read the story over in the sports report and I'm still not 100% sure.

00:12Is this a different kind of wagering or what do they define as sweepstakes?

00:18So these sweepstakes companies, they just started a kind of coalition, 11 of these companies,

00:24to advocate for themselves.

00:26We're starting to see some pushback against them.

00:28They're these gray market operators.

00:30They found loopholes in regulations that allow them to kind of operate as online casinos,

00:36but it's not real money.

00:38They figured out a way to give out free money that then can be exchanged for real money

00:43and you can put in, it's kind of a double edged kind of way to get around things.

00:49And so, not surprisingly, the regulated industry is saying, wait, hold on a second.

00:56This is a little weird.

00:57Why aren't they regulated and have to follow the same things we have to follow?

01:00And why do they not have to pay taxes?

01:04And this association is popping up and I think they're going to start advocating for themselves,

01:08perhaps going to regulators and saying, hey, can we maybe figure out something so we're

01:12not really in the bad guy situation here?

01:16This comes as both the AGA, the American Gaming Association, has issued a statement asking

01:21regulators to scrutinize these operators a little bit more because, again, it's an unregulated

01:26gaming that's kind of getting through the cracks.

01:31And then Michigan sent a cease and desist to multiple operators all offshore and they

01:38pulled out of Michigan.

01:39But of note, all the 11 operators seem to be above board so far and trying to really

01:46figure out how to make this an okay industry in the U.S.