High5Games Hit With Over 1,000 Criminal Counts In Connecticut

High5Games, which operates a sweepstakes online casino called High 5 Casino, is facing 1,065 criminal counts of conducting illegal gaming activity in Connecticut, according to the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Gaming Division. Each charge is a Class A misdemeanor carrying penalties of up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.

Additionally, the state regulatory office has suspended the license of the company.

The gaming division found that High5Games, which also develops online slot content for legal gaming platforms in Connecticut, was falsely marketing its sweepstakes offering as a “licensed” casino.

“Thank you to our Gaming Division team for their hard work to hold this licensee accountable,” DCP Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli said in a press release. “It is a privilege to hold this license, and we expect our credential holders to take that responsibility seriously. High5Games took advantage of their credential to mislead consumers into believing they were participating in gaming on a legal platform when, in fact, they were breaking the law. We remind consumers that there are only two licensed online casinos in Connecticut — DraftKings/Foxwoods and FanDuel/Mohegan Sun — and if you choose to participate in online gaming, you should only utilize one of the legal platforms licensed to operate in our state.”

The investigation revealed that 1,100 Connecticut customers gambled on the unregulated platform, with 911 of them losing a total of $937,938. Among those were 108 individuals who had signed up for the state’s Voluntary Self-Exclusion List, who collectively lost nearly $300,000.

Taking advantage?

“We are disappointed that a licensed gaming service provider took advantage of Connecticut consumers by operating an illegal casino platform,” said DCP Gaming Division Director Kris Gilman. “It is difficult to recover funds for consumers from illegal platforms. We remind consumers that gambling on licensed platforms is the only way to guarantee recovered funds in the event of an issue with a game or platform.”

The department will seek restitution for consumers who lost money on the platform. The High5Games license suspension is effective immediately, and all its games will be removed from the legal platforms.

Last month, High 5 Casino sent a letter to all Connecticut players — as well as those in the six other legal online casino states — that it would be discontinuing use of the sweepstakes casino in those states. Also in February, High 5 Games was on the losing end of a $25 million lawsuit in Washington, where a federal jury ruled in favor of consumers who played the games in that state. The judge ruled in the case that High 5 was operating an illegal gambling operation.

Update: High 5 Games has provided the following statement in response to the license suspension:

High 5 Games has always upheld the highest regulatory standards and remains committed to compliance across all jurisdictions in which we operate. Throughout our 30-year history as an established gaming brand in the U.S., we have worked closely with regulators to ensure responsible and transparent business practices, offering an experience to our loyal business partners that is both enjoyable and safe.

We pride ourselves on the games we deliver as a B2B supplier to operators in all regulated markets in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. Honor, trust, and legal compliance will always be cornerstones of our business. We treasure our relationships with all iGaming operators as clients, and we safeguard these relationships with extreme care. We will always continue to work hard to bring the highest value of content to our partners in a reliable, safe way.

We are committed to cooperating with Connecticut regulators to resolve this matter and maintain the integrity of our gaming licenses.

Our focus remains on delivering exceptional and innovative gaming experiences while fully complying with all state and country regulations.