Ryan Seacrest appears to be the latest touch point for the growing controversy surrounding sweepstakes casinos. California resident Aubrey Carillo filed suit against the host of American Idol and Wheel of Fortune for his role as a celebrity endorser of Chumba Casino.
Chumba is owned by Australia’s VGW Holdings, which also operates Luckyland Slots and Global Poker, and was also named in the suit. The legal action alleges Seacrest was endorsing illegal gambling and possibly leading to addiction through his involvement with the platform.
“Seacrest has a reported net worth of $450M and has had estates or penthouses in Beverly Hills, Napa Valley, Bel-Air & Manhattan,” the suit reads. “Someone this blessed in life does not need to hurt people for more money, but Seacrest does just that by serving as the official celebrity endorser.”
The plaintiff is seeking to bar the company from operating its sweepstakes casinos in California and prohibit Seacrest from profiting from the operations. Seacrest promoted the platform on social media and on the Chumba website.
Sweepstakes casinos allow users to play for free using a virtual currency. They can also purchase additional coins that may come with a secondary “sweeps” currency.
The secondary currency can be accrued and exchanged for real money or prizes. Sweeps and social casinos have become a billion-dollar industry in recent years.
Operators have argued that the platforms are more like traditional mobile gaming and users have no real expectation of winning real money. That hasn’t stopped state legislators from looking to ban the platforms.
Most of those efforts have come up short. Florida recently failed at banning sweeps operators. The Mississippi legislature also stumbled in their attempt to prohibit the platforms.
A similar lawsuit against Stake.us was also filed in the Golden State. The suit alleged that the platform violates state law and is offering California residents an illegal gambling option.
