{"id":190450,"date":"2021-10-29T13:16:55","date_gmt":"2021-10-29T20:16:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=190450"},"modified":"2021-10-29T14:01:45","modified_gmt":"2021-10-29T21:01:45","slug":"pong-games-studios-agrees-3-5m-settlement-with-california-for-illegal-gambling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pong-games-studios-agrees-3-5m-settlement-with-california-for-illegal-gambling\/","title":{"rendered":"Pong Games Studios Agrees to $3.5M Settlement with California for Illegal Gambling"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Canadian games developer has agreed to pay $3.5 million to the state of California and to permanently halt its operations there. That follows the approval by the Superior State of California of a stipulated judgment against the company, Pong Games Studios, for offering illegal gambling in the state.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Pong
Pong\u2019s \u201cPrincess Jewels,\u201d seen above in a screengrab, is advertised as a skill game on its website. California prosecutors said the company\u2019s skill elements were too \u201csimplistic.\u201d (Image: Pong Games Studios)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Ontario, Canada-based company supplied \u201ccasino-style games \u2026 under the guise of lawful sweepstakes\u201d to internet caf\u00e9s across California, according to a statement by state AG Rob Bonta.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s judgment puts a halt to these unlawful activities,” Bonta said. “It protects consumers and it protects the safety of our communities. I\u2019m grateful to our task force partners across the state for their work in securing this important win. Together, we can continue to dismantle illegal gambling operations and make a difference for the people of our state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Testing Boundaries <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Internet sweepstakes operators throughout the US frequently occupy a gray area<\/a> in the law. Their games often ape the essential dynamics of games that are legal in the surrounding jurisdiction. But they can push the legal boundaries to the max, often having the look, sound, and feel of slots or video poker machines.<\/p>\n

\n

Pong\u2019s \u201cSweepstakes Gambling System\u201d was designed to conform to laws governing promotional sweepstakes competitions, or at least the company\u2019s interpretation of those laws. The competitions are legal in California, provided they are free to enter. Operators get around this by selling customers time on the machines, instead of receiving a buy-in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In 2015, the Supreme Court of California analyzed several sweepstakes gambling systems, including one that operated software developed by Pong. The court ruled the system violated the state penal code.<\/p>\n

That year, the legislature amended the Business and Professions Code section. The law aimed to ban any method intended to be used by a person interacting with an electronic video monitor \u201cto simulate gambling or play gambling-themed games in a business establishment that . . . implements the predetermination of sweepstakes cash \u2026 or otherwise connects a sweepstakes player or participant with sweepstakes cash, cash equivalent prizes, or other prizes of value.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pong Carries On<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Pong was undeterred. According to prosecutors, the company tweaked its offering in California to provide a product based not on sweepstakes, but skill-gaming. According to court documents, Pong believed this would eliminate chance, and thus it could not be deemed a gambling game.<\/p>\n

But the Superior Court agreed with prosecutors that \u201cthe purported skill exercise \u2026 only required participants to perform a simplistic graphical color bar exercise before cashing out their gambling winnings.\u201d<\/p>\n

For years, Pong has flouted California law and flooded our state with illegal gambling devices, profiting off of the harm done to some of our most vulnerable communities,\u201d<\/strong> said Kern County District Attorney Cynthia J. Zimmer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cPong\u2019s illegal devices and software have bred unregulated pop-up casinos that have been magnets for criminal activity wherever they have arisen, and today\u2019s judgment will get Pong\u2019s illegal gambling software out of our state and send a clear message to other makers of illegal gambling software: take your business elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Canadian games developer has agreed to pay $3.5 million to the state of California and to permanently halt its operations there. That follows the approval by the Superior State of California of a stipulated judgment against the company, Pong Games Studios, for offering illegal gambling in the state. The Ontario, Canada-based company supplied \u201ccasino-style […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":190451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPong Games Studios Agrees to Pay to Californa $3.5M for Illegal Gambling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pong Games Studios will pay the state of California $3.5 million for operating illegal gambling at internet sweepstakes caf\u00e9s, court rules.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pong-games-studios-agrees-3-5m-settlement-with-california-for-illegal-gambling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pong Games Studios Agrees to Pay to Californa $3.5M for Illegal Gambling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pong Games Studios will pay the state of California $3.5 million for operating illegal gambling at internet sweepstakes caf\u00e9s, court rules.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pong-games-studios-agrees-3-5m-settlement-with-california-for-illegal-gambling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-29T20:16:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-10-29T21:01:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pong.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1358\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"842\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pong-games-studios-agrees-3-5m-settlement-with-california-for-illegal-gambling\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pong-games-studios-agrees-3-5m-settlement-with-california-for-illegal-gambling\/\",\"name\":\"Pong Games Studios Agrees to Pay to Californa $3.5M for Illegal Gambling\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pong-games-studios-agrees-3-5m-settlement-with-california-for-illegal-gambling\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pong-games-studios-agrees-3-5m-settlement-with-california-for-illegal-gambling\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pong.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-29T20:16:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-10-29T21:01:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Pong Games Studios will pay the state of California $3.5 million for operating illegal gambling at internet sweepstakes caf\u00e9s, court rules.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pong-games-studios-agrees-3-5m-settlement-with-california-for-illegal-gambling\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pong-games-studios-agrees-3-5m-settlement-with-california-for-illegal-gambling\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pong-games-studios-agrees-3-5m-settlement-with-california-for-illegal-gambling\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pong.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pong.jpg\",\"width\":1358,\"height\":842,\"caption\":\"Pong\u2019s \u201cPrincess Jewels,\u201d above, is advertised as a skill game on its website. 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