The Maryland gaming regulator, Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, issued a cease-and-desist letter to Virtual Gaming Worlds, an offshore sweepstakes casino, after it was found that it had been operating unlawfully in the Old Line State.
The cease-and-desist letter was sent to the Australian operator after a Virtual Games World lobbyist testified against a sweepstakes ban hearing the day prior.
Maryland is clamping down on sweepstakes casinos, and VGW is the latest operator to receive a cease-and-desist letter. Senate Bill 860, sponsored by Senator Paul D. Corderman, and its companion bill HB1140 aim to prohibit online sweepstakes games and revenue from illegal markets.
Yet, the day after a hearing where the bill was unanimously passed to the Ways and Means Committee, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency sent Virtual Games World a cease-and-desist letter claiming that it was offering online gaming in the state without a license.
The regulator went on to stress in the letter that “[t]he only online gaming permitted in Maryland is mobile/online sports wagering and online fantasy competitions,” and added, “[o]nline casino gaming (also known as iGaming) is not [even] permitted in Maryland.”
Virtual Games World has ten days to explain why it was operating in the state without a license. The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency emphasizes that failure to comply will affect future attempts to require a gambling license from them.