The Better Business Bureau (BBB) in Central Virginia has warned consumers to steer clear of a platform called Crown Coins, a sweepstakes casino, which is first – not fully regulated under state laws and secondly, tied to a litany of complaints.
BBB Has Issued a Warning over a Sweepstakes Casino in the Commonwealth
The company uses the so-called sweep coins to allow users to redeem cash rewards, even though the website runs free-to-play social games.
Legislators all over the United States have taken issue with the use of sweep coins to maintain this business model, criticizing it and even outright banning it in several states.
Lawmakers argue that the use of sweeps coins enables a casino-style gaming for real money, which has led to action across multiple states, including New Jersey and Minnesota as recent examples.
Specifically, though, the BBB has said that there was a “pattern of complaints” that was tied to the platform, with players unable or experiencing difficulty trying to redeem their rewards.
The company itself is based in Tel aviv, Israel, but the BBB has failed to locate a physical office for the operator, with 363 customer complaints already logged against the operator, and the regulator assigning an “F” rating to it.
BBB ratings run from A+ to F, meaning that Crown Coins currently has the lowest possible rating as per the customer protection watchdog, with the score based on customer report and concerns over complaint history, business responsiveness and transparency.
Crown Coins Cites Irregularities with User Accounts
However, Crown Coins has not sat idly by, and has mounted a defense, explaining that withdrawal requests cited by the watchdog were not honored because of a simple breach of the company’s existing T&Cs.
The company has also argued that in some cases, users were attempting to use payment methods, such as debit and credit cards, that were not issued in their name, which also invalidated attempts to redeem cash rewards.
