- High 5 Games has ceased its High 5 Casino operation in Connecticut
- High 5 Games has also agreed to settle the state’s probe with a $1.5 million penalty
- High 5 is a licensed B2B iGaming provider in Connecticut
High 5 Games, LLC, has agreed to a $1.5 million settlement in Connecticut to conclude the state’s probe into its operations.
In March, Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection suspended High 5 Games’ Online Gaming Service Provider license after finding that the New Jersey-based company had violated the state’s gaming laws. Specifically, it was determined that the company’s High 5 Casino was an unlicensed online gambling website.
The High 5 Casino had billed itself as a social casino, or a free-to-play platform. But the operation’s inclusion of optional sweeps coins, which can be redeemed for cash, was found to violate Connecticut’s online gaming statutes.
High 5 Games is licensed to supply legal iGaming operations within Connecticut. The state’s two tribes — Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot — hold a duopoly on online casino gambling with their respective partners, FanDuel and DraftKings.
The tribes also control in-person casino gambling with their Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods properties.
License Restored
In exchange for ceasing its High 5 Casino business in Connecticut, the Department of Consumer Protection restored High 5 Games’ Online Gaming Service Provider license effective May 22. High 5 Games has agreed to pay $643,000 in restitution to consumers who lost money playing the High 5 Casino, and nearly $800,000 that the Consumer Protection Department will use for consumer complaint resolution programs, consumer education, and consumer protection enforcement.
“This case is just one example of the hard work our Gaming Division does to ensure a fair, safe, and legal gaming market in Connecticut,” said DCP Commissioner Bryan Cafferelli. “We are pleased the Connecticut consumers who were lured into placing wagers on an unlicensed platform will be made whole, and that this company has ceased operations of its unlicensed casino in Connecticut.”
Kris Gilman, director of the DCP Gaming Division, added that he is “satisfied with the outcome.” Gilman said the High 5 Casino “harmed” consumers with “unfair marketing of an unlicensed sweepstakes casino.”
If you’re going to gamble, Connecticut is the best state to place a wager. We work hard to ensure fairness in our licensed market, and when violations do occur, we make every effort to make sure consumers are made whole,” Gilman said.
The High 5 Games settlement resolves possible criminal charges against the company and its chief officials. In March, the DCP said it was considering over 1,000 criminal counts of conducting illegal gambling. Each Class A misdemeanor count came with a possible punishment of up to a year in prison and a $2,000 fine.
Thousands Harmed
When the DCP suspended High 5 Games’ business-to-business online gaming permit, the agency detailed that at least 1,100 people inside the state made financial deposits on the unlicensed casino.
Of those who played for real money, 911 customers were losers, with their losses amounting to almost $938,000. More than 100 of those individuals had previously banned their access to the DraftKings and FanDuel online casinos by registering with the Connecticut Voluntary Self-Exclusion List.
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