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Read Full BioReddit users have identified online casino scams that are targeting unsuspecting users through social media.
A post by user ReginaldWatson on Reddit flagged up a fake casino site, posting a screenshot of the homepage and warning users to recognize it as a scam.
The post goes on to detail “how the scam works:
- The victim finds the casino through an advertisement on social media that features an enticing bonus.
- The victim joins the site, receives their bonus, and begins to play what they believe to be legitimate casino games.
- The casino software is privately hosted and altered to have extremely favorable RTP% – i.e. rigged in your favor. YOU WILL WIN if you play, probably a large amount of money.
- When you go to withdraw, you’ll be met with some hurdles. Part of the verification process will be that you must make a deposit, likely between $100-$500.
- After the casino receives your deposit, they will provide excuses or just outright ban your account. No matter what you do, THEY WILL PROVIDE A REASON NOT TO PAY YOU.
- The casino keeps your deposit. You were scammed.”
Websites Flagged As Scams
Users who have been scammed by the sites, which appear to be run by the same group, identify urls of the fake casinos.
Websites include the following:
- Betstakez.com
- Cryptostakez.com
- GoldenMirage.com
- Dragoluck.com
- Velnux.com
- WeoPlay.com
- CasinoBrango.com
- Cylovex.com
- Luxspace.top
- Playfortune.io
- Lopotex.com
- Hunnyplay.io
Some of the URLs appear to be no longer active, such as GoldenMirage and Velnux, but others remain accessible and primarily feature the same two landing pages.
Fake Claims Attempt To Show Legitimacy
The sites claim to have paid out over $24 billion to players, but judging by comments from Reddit users, this does not seem accurate.
One user also notes the outlandish claim of having 51 million users, commenting: “These sites do NOT have 51+ million registered users. For reference, Draftkings and Fanduel, the two largest publicly traded gaming companies with NFL, NBA, MLB, ESPN, etc. network deals, don’t even have that amount of users. Stake, the largest crypto casino, doesn’t even come close to the number of registered users that these scam casinos claim.”
The Luxspace and Cylovex landing pages prompt users to register on the site and include a checkbox to agree to the user agreement; however, there is no link to the actual user agreement.
Sites Require Deposits Before Allowing Withdrawals
A user registered on Cylovex reported being required to make a $250 deposit before being allowed to withdraw funds.
The user, Quartz87, detailed their experience in a post three days ago, writing: “Yeah I saw this on Instagram saying Drake wanted to ‘help’ people and when I clicked it, it took me to Cylovex casino. The post had been from a BBC article that I could not find on their website, nor from the reporter in question no matter what I googled,”
“I used my throwaway details and within a day ran the $4,000 bonus up to $14K, lol. Obviously I would go to withdraw and that’s when I saw the $250 requirement.”
“Started doing searches about the website which would never show up anything. Looked up the domain, registered June 2, lol. Week prior to me seeing the site.”
Similarly, a user on Luxspace stated that they were told they need to deposit $150 to “confirm KYC” before a withdrawal is possible.
Many users also report that the websites have only been set up in the last few weeks, but when searching for reviews online, there are claims that individuals have been using the sites for years.
Sites Copying Real Gambling Companies
Drake is an ambassador for Stake, and a quick Google search can reveal he does not endorse any of the sites listed above.
As well as reports of fake social media posts and news articles, the sites also operate by copying terms from real gambling websites.
A user posted, “These sites copy Stake’s Terms of Service word for word, but conveniently leave out the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and many other “wealthier” countries from their list of restricted countries.”
Stake is an online casino that has been geo-blocked in the UK but operates through Stake.us in the US, utilizing a sweepstakes casino model.
Some states in the US have explicitly banned sweepstakes casinos, with New York the latest on the verge of passing legislation. Many companies continue to operate in a legal gray area.
Although there have been legal challenges in courts, the fake casino sites being reported on Reddit are a different entity.
States Warn Of Online Casino Scams
Earlier this year, the Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) warned users of a growing number of online casino scams. Michigan, Maryland, Indiana, and Delaware have also issued similar warnings this year.
