The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency (MLGCA) has sent the social casino company a cease-and-desist letter. High Entertainment, doing business as High 5 Casino, operates a variety of products ranging from free-to-play social casino through to what has now been termed “online sweepstakes casinos.”
What Does the Maryland Letter Say?
The letter, signed by the MLCGCA’s Managing Director of Gaming, Michael Eaton, reads: “It has come to the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency’s attention that High Entertainment, LLC d/b/a High 5 Casino, is offering and conducting online gaming activities in Maryland without legal authority to do so.
“The only online gaming permitted in Maryland is mobile/online sports wagering and online fantasy competitions,” it continues. The letter then details that: “Online casino gaming (also known as iGaming) is not permitted in Maryland, and an operator is prohibited from offering any casino gaming unless licensed by the Commission. The Commission has no record of High Entertainment being issued a sports wagering license, a casino gaming license, or registration as a fantasy competition operator.”
High 5 Casino has until 5 p.m. on 2 April 2025 to respond. The MLCGCA letter dictates that High 5 Games has the option to confirm that none of the aforementioned gaming activities are being offered in Maryland or provide extensive detail.
“If High Entertainment is offering any of these gaming activities in Maryland, please include in your responsive email:
- A detailed description of the name of each casino game offering, along with its mobile link, or its retail location and trade name, as applicable;
- A detailed description of each sports wagering offering, along with its mobile link, or its retail location and trade name, as applicable;
- A detailed description of each fantasy competition offering, along with its mobile link, or its retail location and trade name, as applicable; and
- Any legal analysis or opinion interpreting Maryland Law that concludes, advises, or suggests that High Entertainment may legally offer sports wagering, casino games, or fantasy competition games in Maryland without Commission registration or licensure.”
It Could Be Worse…
The company’s problems in Maryland are nothing compared to events in Connecticut. The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) has suspended the company’s online gaming service provider license (OGSP) and looking to press over 1,000 criminal charges.
The suspension order alleges that High 5 Games misled Connecticut residents by marketing High 5 Casino, an online sweepstakes casino product, as a licensed platform.
The suspension order began with immediate effect, meaning:
- High 5 Games’ OGSP license is indefinitely suspended pending further investigation.
- All High 5 Games content will be removed from FanDuel and DraftKings platforms in Connecticut.
- The company faces over 1,000 criminal charges, with penalties of up to one year in jail and $2,000 per violation.
- The DCP is seeking restitution for consumers misled into believing High 5 Casino was legally operating.
The breaches included accepting deposits from 1,100 Connecticut players, totaling over $3 million. The DCP also found that High 5 permitted 911 players to lose $937,598 collectively. In a particularly notable compliance failure, 117 players on the Connecticut Voluntary Self-Exclusion List for gambling were permitted to wager nearly $300,000.
DCP Gaming Division Director Kristofer Gilman commented: “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.”
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