Sweeps Operators Could Face Racketeering Charges In Louisiana

A Louisiana legislator has filed a bill that would make online sweepstakes casinos susceptible to racketeering charges in the Pelican State.

HB 53, pre-filed by Rep. Bryan Fontenot last Friday, looks to add "gambling by electronic sweepstakes device" as a predicate offense that could be prosecuted under Louisiana's racketeering laws -- considered among the strictest in the country. People found guilty of felony racketeering charges are subject to fines of up to $1 million, prison sentences of up to 50 years of hard labor, or both.

Attorney General Liz Murrill declared sweepstakes sites illegal via written opinion last July. Her response was to a query from a state senator asking if online businesses were permitted to operate casino-style gaming activities.

Murrill's opinion emboldened the state's Department of Revenue to sue two sweeps operators, VGW and WOW Vegas, for a combined $44.4 million in taxes, interest, and unpaid penalties in September.

Another crack at anti-sweeps legislation

Louisiana has been a state with little tolerance for online sweeps operators. State Sen. Adam Bass was able to navigate SB 181 easily through both chambers of legislature last year, only to have Gov. Jeff Landry veto the measure.

Landy cited confidence in the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) in regulating such matters and called Bass' bill "a solution in search of a problem that is already being solved by our current system.” Shortly after Landry issued his veto, the LGCB sent out more than 40 cease-and-desist letters, a list that included VGW and WOW Vegas.