Arizona’s gaming regulator has targeted the likes of Stake.us and High 5 Casino in its latest round of cease-and-desist orders.
The Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) announced on Friday that it has written to operators claiming they are offering a range of unauthorized gaming products and services in the state.
Among them are Stake.us, which the ADG labeled a sweepstakes operator. Stake.us is a defendant in separate lawsuits in California and Alabama, wherein plaintiffs argue it is offering illegal gambling.
The ADG has also written to the likes of High 5 and BettorEdge, which it asserted offer multiple types of unapproved gaming, as well as “event wagering sportsbook” ReBet.
Here’s the full list, as described in the ADG’s language:
- Event wagering sportsbook ReBet
- Peer-to-peer exchange Novig
- Sweepstakes operator Stake.us
- Multi-vertical operators BettorEdge and High 5
- Raffle operators Dallas Safari Club and Fanthem
In a notice, the ADG said all named operators are unlicensed and unregulated and have been illegally targeting Arizona residents. The department said the group of operators reportedly offer “slot-style casino games, ‘sweepstakes’ models, sports betting, horse race wagering and peer-to-peer betting exchanges” between them.
The press release asserted that the active operations of each of the named sites are alleged to be felony criminal enterprises in violation of Arizona gaming laws, including the felony crimes of illegal control of an enterprise and promotion of gambling. The regulator ordered each operator to shut down immediately in the state.
“Illegal gambling, regardless of the platform or format, has no place in Arizona,” said ADG Director Jackie Johnson. “Whether it’s online casino-style games, sweepstakes models or unauthorized sports betting, any operation that falls outside Arizona’s legal and regulatory framework will face enforcement action.
“Illegal gambling doesn’t just break the law; it robs our state’s economy and puts consumers at risk. The Department stands firmly with our licensed and regulated operators who are following the rules, contributing to Arizona’s economic health, and upholding the protections that a regulated market provides.”
Don’t make me say it again
This is the second wave of C&Ds that Arizona’s gaming regulator has sent in less than three months.
In mid-April, it told several operators to shut down in the state, including sweepstakes and online casino provider ARB Gaming, LLC, which operates MODO.us and Modo. That company, incidentally, has just acquired Publishers Clearing House for around $7 million in an auction after the direct-to-consumer promotions company filed for bankruptcy.
Arizona’s enforcement action in April also sought to chase out other operators including ProphetX, MyBookie and BetUS.com.
Now, again, the ADG has shown it is willing to go after a range of platforms offering a wide variety of gambling wares that it deems to be illegal.
That also extends to prediction markets. The regulator told SBC Americas in May that it also sent cease-and-desist orders to Kalshi and Crypto.com. A couple of weeks later, Johnson criticized the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), opining that the federal derivatives regulator has failed to take a firm hand against prediction markets offering sports event contracts.
