Articles from April 2025

The post Law Firm That Won $25m Social Casino Class-Action Files Complaint Against Stake.US appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

Big money on the line

Stake.US is facing another lawsuit just one week after the filing of a complaint in California. This time, it’s in Illinois, with the law firm that secured a $25m class-action win in February against High 5 Games now saying that the operator breached state gambling rules with its sweepstakes model.

misleading users into thinking they’re playing risk-free, casual games

Stake.US is facing allegations that it is running “an unlicensed and illegal online casino” while simultaneously misleading users into thinking they’re playing risk-free, casual games. As per Illinois law, all gambling must take place with a license from the state’s regulator, which Stake.US does not have.

The sweepstakes model

The lawsuit contends that Stake.US looks exactly like the popular Stake real-money gambling site, which was “rebranded to mislead regulators and consumers” into thinking they were engaging in harmless gameplay.

need to buy coin packages with real money if they want to be in with a chance of earning prizes

The dual-currency system of Stake.US came in for special attention, with the Stake Cash option redeemable for real money prizes, unlike the Gold Coins alternative. Once players can’t get any more Stake Cash through promotions, they need to buy coin packages with real money if they want to be in with a chance of earning prizes.

This is despite the platform’s use of the tagline “no purchase is necessary” to get Stake Cash, which the law firm Edelson claims is misleading.

Seeking damages

Another aspect of the lawsuit is that the plaintiff claims Stake aggressively marketed to vulnerable people by frequently showing content of influencers winning big, which gives a false impression that large payouts are frequent. Prominent people who are partners of Stake include rapper Drake and UFC star Israel Adesanya.

seeking compensation for his losses, statutory damages and to stop Stake from operating in Illinois

The plaintiff in the case is Brayden Urdan, who lost over $15,000 on the site. He’s seeking compensation for his losses, statutory damages, and to stop Stake from operating in Illinois.

The lawsuit in California follows a similar format, with it being filed in federal jurisdiction rather than on a state level.

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The post Resorts World’s Comeback Continues With Appointment of Industry Veteran Greg Shulman appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

Damage repair

Resort’s World Las Vegas’ drive to restore credibility over reputation-damaging money laundering compliance failures continues with another high-profile executive appointment.

strategic play intended to attract international gamblers

Malaysia-headquartered Genting’s latest move to appoint industry veteran Greg Shulman to its Vegas Strip casino’s board is a strategic play intended to attract international gamblers.

As Resorts World Las Vegas’ Vice President of International Marketing, Genting is backing Shulman’s pedigree of attracting international gamblers to Sin City to up its global appeal.

Resorts World issued a press release Tuesday stating Shulman’s remit will concentrate on high net-worth players as a “long-term growth strategy of expanding our international presence.”

Great expectations

Shulman, who has more than 30 years’ experience in the gaming industry, stated in the release he was excited to join the Genting subsidiary “as we look to accelerate our growth in the international VIP player market.”

Shulman’s resume includes over a decade-and-a-half as an MGM Resorts International’s Vice President of International Marketing and, more recently, Palms Las Vegas’ Vice President of Casino Marketing, a position he held for over three years before his March 17 move to Resorts World.

widely regarded as one of the top player development executives”

Resorts World’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Carlos Castro stated his new colleague was “widely regarded as one of the top player development executives” across the industry.

Shulman steps into the breach in an attempt to restore Resorts World’s credibility after a litany of controversies. These include the high-profile firing of its ex-President and COO Scott Sibella, an indirect role in an illegal MLB sports gambling scandal, and multiple disciplinary complaints.

Of the latter, Resorts World only recently came to a $10.5m settlement with Nevada gaming regulators over AML compliance failures, the second-largest fine in the state’s history

Band gets back together

The Las Vegas Review-Journal on Tuesday reported how the appointment of Shulman is essentially an attempt to reunite former colleagues in a genuine power play.

“Both Castro and Shulman worked for MGM Resorts when the Las Vegas-based gaming and hospitality corporation was headed by Jim Murren, now chairman of Resorts World’s recently formed board of directors.”

His former boss Murren stated Resorts World was excited to welcome Shulman on board, citing his “proven track record of executing marketing strategies that attract new audiences and drive financial growth.”

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The post Penn Rolls Out theScore Casino App in Ontario appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

Pennsylvania-based Penn Entertainment has launched its iCasino product in Ontario, Canada.

Penn announced it had launched theScore Casino app in Ontario on Monday. The operator took to X with news, stating the app includes 1,200 games, multiple slots, table games, and live dealer options:

The newly available app is powered by Penn’s online Hollywood Casino technology platform, which allows Ontario customers to login using their existing theScore Casino credentials. The iGaming platform also hosts exclusive games linked to the MLB’s Toronto Blue Jays.

Penn’s Chief Technology Officer and Head of Interactive Aaron LaBerge stated his firm was “excited to introduce our dedicated iCasino product in Ontario under the well-known and trusted theScore brand.”

“We’ve built a strong online gaming foothold in the Ontario market and are primed to deliver an even better casino experience with our proven stand-alone app.”

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The post Leicester City Teen Makes EPL History in Sponsorless Shirt That Hogs Headlines appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

Different shirt

With his side losing 0-3 to Newcastle United, Leicester City debutant Jeremy Monga’s entry into the field made English Premier League history, but it was his sponsorless shirt that attracted headlines.

At 15 years and 271 days old, Monga became the second-youngest player to play in the EPL on Monday.

Leicester took to X after the home defeat to share Monga’s EPL debut, with the England Under-16 winger wearing a sponsorless shirt:

Leicester’s home shirt is sponsored by Curaçao-headquartered crypto gaming firm BC Game, which meant the England winger would have broken UK laws had he sported the gambling sponsor’s logo.

Fans react

According to reports, the atmosphere at Leicester’s King Power Stadium was all doom and gloom long before Harvey Barnes effectively ended the competition scoring Newcastle’s third and final goal in the 34th minute.

Rows of empty seats at the Foxes’ stadium greeted Leicester’s home match-up which, after the Newcastle defeat, means the EPL franchise could be relegated to the English League Championship as early as Easter Sunday.

Enter Monga wearing number 93 for his EPL debut with 16 minutes of regulation time left. Soccer fans later took to X with mixed feelings. While soccer coach Joe Corey stated Monga had a great debut, the majority of other responses were about his blank-fronted shirt.

I thought all kits had to be the same.”

X user @NS_1872 posed: “No sponsor on his shirt? I thought all kits had to be the same. Big fine coming the club’s way I imagine.”

@SA_1884 meanwhile attacked the franchise’s executive for Monga’s appearance in a non BC Game-sponsored shirt, stating: “Sack the board. Clowns.”

Enduring an abysmal season on the field of play, Leicester has also had to defend its sponsor at a public level after news emerged in March that BC.Game holding brands Blockdance BV and Small House BV went bankrupt.

The Gambling Act 2005 prohibits EPL players younger than 18 from wearing gambling sponsored branding on their uniforms.

Silver linings?

Monga, whom the Guardian stated “juggles school with first-team training” can only sign his first pro soccer contract when he turns 17 in 2026.

Coach Corey believes other EPL franchises will have Monga on their radars when the transfer window opens. The teen debutant, however, shared the field with another ex-Leicester prodigy Harvey Barnes.

According to reports, Barnes’ goal for Newcastle had Leicester fans singing their former favorite’s name.

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The post Man Fails With Bid to Exchange $60k in Playboy Casino Chips 40+ Years After Closing appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

A man is attempting to exchange casino chips worth $59,500 for the long-closed Playboy Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. Keith Hawkins took legal action to try to recover the value of the 389 chips that he purchased in 2022 online. While he lost his original case, Hawkins appealed the decision before the final ruling came last week.

He believed he had a case because following the facility’s closure in 1984, it sent money to the Unclaimed Property Administration in the state treasury department to cover the value of any outstanding chips.

a former employee of the casino stole boxes of unused chips in and around 1990

New Jersey law enforcement started looking into the matter and discovered that a former employee of the casino stole boxes of unused chips in and around 1990 and kept them in a secure deposit box. A company was supposed to destroy all unused chips, but clearly failed to do so. The bank was aware of the chips and drilled open this box in 2010 to confiscate them before eventually selling them in an auction in 2022.

Judges in the ongoing case are happy that there’s sufficient evidence to prove that the chips Hawkins purchased were unissued and slated for destruction, which means that they are not redeemable.

The property was only open for three years before closing in April 1981. Donald Trump eventually bought the casino after several other owners, developing it into the Trump World Fair, which lasted about three years.

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The post Bally’s Saves Star After Aussie Casino Giant Agrees $180m Takeover Offer appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

Bally’s heading Down Under

Bally’s Corporation is adding three of Australia’s leading casinos to its portfolio after the Star Entertainment board reportedly accepted its AU$300m ($180.4m) takeover offer.

handed Bally’s the keys to Star’s casinos

According to the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday, the move by the US gambling powerhouse handed Bally’s the keys to Star’s casinos in Brisbane, Sydney, and Queensland, while saving the Aussie firm from financial collapse.

Media reports state lawyers are finalizing paperwork for the Bally’s takeover and that the deal could get inked Monday.

Bally’s will reportedly inject AU$250m ($150.3m) into Star with controlling shareholder Bruce Mathieson adding AU$50m ($30m).

Cashing in

Star reportedly expects to receive the cash up-front from Bally’s and Mathieson by week’s end to meet its near-term financial obligations.

While the acquisition will give Bally’s control of The Star, Sydney; The Star Gold Coast; and The Star Brisbane; it also handed the Aussie casino giant a lifeline.

only had enough cash to last it one week

On Wednesday, Star allegedly only had enough cash to last it one week after an AU$940m ($563.9m) offer from property development fund Salter Brothers Capital fell through over lack of a binding debt commitment letter.

Star was facing imminent collapse with around 9,000 jobs across its Australia properties at risk. Its eventual saviour Bally’s threw its hat into the ring in March, a bullish, last-minute move by the Soo Kim-owned brand.

At the time, Bally’s challenged a move by Star’s Hong Kong partners to acquire a 50% stake in its Brisbane integrated casino-resort, calling its offer “an alternative path.”

What next?

Bally’s now needs approvals for its acquisition of controlling interest in Star from the Foreign Investment Review Board and casino regulators in NSW and Queensland.

Approval seems guaranteed given Bally’s US pedigree in the gambling industry and that it already runs 19 casinos acquired via “distressed sales.”

charm offensive while inspecting Star’s casinos

Chairman Kim also went on a charm offensive while inspecting Star’s casinos earlier this year on what he termed a “mystery shopping” experience.

Kim stated that Bally’s was “almost struggling to understand” why Star’s Sydney casino was “performing so poorly.”

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The post Sweden Bans Retail Casinos Starting January 2026 appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

Sweden’s parliament has backed the move to terminate land-based casino gaming in the country.

The majority in the Riksdag carried the vote through, which means the days of Sweden’s last state-owned casino in Stockholm are numbered. The parliament vote confirmed the law will take effect from January 1, 2026.

The Riksdag stated retail casinos in Sweden “no longer serve their purpose,” citing profitability issues and dwindling visitors to Casino Cosmopol.

State-owned Svenska Spel Sport & Casino holds the monopoly for Sweden’s retail casinos and operates Casino Cosmopol under state mandate.

emotionally tough because it means that an era will end”

Svenska Spel Casino Cosmopol CEO Ola Enquist said the state’s retail arm agreed with the government’s reasons for the directive, but stated: “….it is of course emotionally tough because it means that an era will end when the casino in Stockholm eventually closes.”

“Our focus right now is to support our employees and at the same time stay open and continue to take care of our guests.”

Opposition to the shuttering of the vertical came from market regulator Spelinspektionen, which has claimed before that the move could prompt a rise in illegal gambling.

While Spelinspektionen has yet to respond to the Riksdag’s announcement, it added it would need additional funding to brace for the expected rise in unregulated brick-and-mortar gambling.

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The post Wynn Resorts Share Price Nose Dives 10.6% a Day After Staff Got $10k Worth of Stock appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

The Wynn Resorts share price plunged 10.62% on Thursday after the market reacted to the specifics of US President Donald Trump’s global tariff plan. Other major casino companies like MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment experienced similarly-sized drops.

Pre-market trading for Friday looks volatile once more, so Wynn’s stock price is likely to reach its lowest point since October 2022.

The timing is not ideal for those staff members who received $10,000 worth of company stock as a thank-you for being with the firm since the beginning. The Wynn Las Vegas casino is celebrating its 20-year anniversary this month, and employees who have worked there since the start are also getting a choice of gifts, such as a MacBook or a video game console.

the $10,000 in company stock is now worth $8,938

After yesterday’s drop, the $10,000 in company stock is now worth $8,938, so it was certainly poor timing. With another 5% drop looking likely off the back of pre-market trading, the $10,000 figure could be worth $8,491 by the end of Friday.

Investors are concerned about the knock-on impact of Trump’s tariffs. Many economists believe that it will strain consumers, with price increases likely and job losses on the horizon. For the gaming industry, this means less discretionary spending on gambling, entertainment, and vacations.

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The post US Casino Stocks Plummet to Multi-Year Lows After Trump’s Tariffs Announcement appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

US casino stock prices were decimated when the market opened on Thursday following President Donald Trump’s announcement of his ‘Liberation Day’ tariff plan the previous day.

Las Vegas Sands has continued its downward trend, with a 31% drop

Caesars Entertainment hit its lowest point since May 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its worst for the industry, dropping 9.5% to $23.77. MGM Resorts International and Red Rock Resorts fell similarly, while Wynn Resorts plummeted 10.6%. Las Vegas Sands has continued its downward trend, with a 31% drop in its price over the past six months.

Casino companies were more sensitive to the tariffs announcement than the overall market, with the S&P 500 falling 4.8% and the NASDAQ 6% on Thursday. Pre-market trading ahead of Friday’s session looks calmer as people take stock of the wreckage.

Investors have concerns about the impact that tariffs will have on the average person. They expect that companies facing higher costs will pass on much of these additional expenses to customers through price hikes.

Economists believe jobs could be under threat and people’s discretionary spending will be hit hard, meaning less money spent on travel, gambling, and entertainment, which is bad news for casino companies. The chances of a recession are much higher, especially as many nations are considering retaliatory moves following Trump’s bold play.

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The post Alabama Lawmaker Submits No-Fat Gambling Bill With Understated Confidence appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

Silver bullet bill?

An Alabama lawmaker has filed a new no-frills gambling bill to include sports betting, electronic games, and lottery.

“a very trimmed down” new bill

Alabama’s gambling bill only failed by a single vote in the Senate in 2024. After tabling “a very trimmed down” new bill for 2025, its author Sen. Greg Albritton revealed his hopes for progression of the compromise two-part bill with understated confidence.

“It’s the least amount we can do that I think is economically viable.”

The senator had kept his fat-free bill on the down low until publishing it Thursday. He admitted, however, he was still short of votes needed to pass the bill in the 34-member Senate

Albritton’s legislative package includes both a constitutional amendment requiring voter approval in a September 16 ballot, and a highly detailed 141-page bill.

What’s the plan?

Albritton’s tweaked bill allows for legal sports betting, iGaming at Alabama’s ex-greyhound tracks, state lottery, and “a compact that would allow the Poarch Band of Creek Indians to have four casinos.”

Under the bill’s iGaming component, sports betting and digital gambling would be subject to a 24% tax on net revenue “an excise tax on each gambling machine, and a sports wagering tax on each bet.”

a public lottery firm would control Alabama’s state lottery

Digital gambling would be legal at five ex-greyhound tracks in Jefferson, Macon, and Mobile counties and one bingo hall in either Greene, Houston or Lowndes counties. Under the proposed bill, a public lottery firm would control Alabama’s state lottery.

It also proposes Baltimore Governor Wes Moore negotiate a revenue-sharing agreement with the Poarch.

Moore’s nod would authorize Class III gaming, or full-scale casinos with table games at the tribe’s existing three electronic bingo casinos. These are located in Atmore, Montgomery, Wetumpka, and at Birmingham Race Course and casino.

The bill would also establish an Alabama Gaming Commission to license, tax, and regulate gambling complete with a law enforcement arm.

The whys

Giving his reasons for the new bill, the Alabama lawmaker said gambling was “rampant in Alabama and needs to be regulated” and that state budgets needed the juice amid uncertain economic times.

Albritton stated that people were gambling in the halls of the Alabama Senate prior to Super Bowl LIX and that the sports betting vertical was “occurring in junior highs. It’s eating us up. If we don’t get control of it, we’ll be in serious trouble.” In addition, the senator said the urgency came from “federal money drying up.”

“We have an economy that is questionable right now.”

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