Louisiana + Mississippi Send Dozens of Cease-and-Desist Letters

The authorities in Louisiana and Mississippi both announced on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 that they were taking enforcement actions against online casino operators. They allege that these companies are breaking gambling laws by accepting residents from within their borders as customers.

Louisiana

The Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) released a press statement in which it declared that it was working in combination with the Louisiana Attorney General's Office and the Gaming Enforcement Division of the Louisiana State Police to stand against what it believes to be illegal gambling operations.

About the Targeted Sites

Louisiana has identified 42 organizations that it claims are violating state anti-gambling laws. Interestingly, the list contains both traditional offshore online casinos as well as sweepstakes casinos that employ a dual-currency system in an attempt to appear more legitimate in the eyes of the law.

Looking at the list of sites, it appears that the authorities in Louisiana have done a relatively good job of identifying the most popular offshore internet gaming providers. Harp Media (i.e., Bovada), which heads the list, is certainly a well-known name in the worlds of online poker, casinos, and sports betting. Other entries on the list include:

• Bamboo Media and Arachis Media: both associated with the popular Ignition Casino, a sister of Bovada
• Dama N.V. d/b/a Wild Casino: a well-known casino-only operator
• Heritage Sports: a renowned sportsbook operator that also hosts casino games
• VGW Holdings: the most prominent sweepstakes poker and casino operator
• Winning Poker Network: association of several poker rooms with attached casinos and sportsbooks
• Precise IG Solutions B.V. d/b/a CoinPoker: largest crypto-only poker site in the world
• Commission Kings: marketing group representing leading gaming brands, like BetOnline, Sportsbetting.ag, and SuperSlots

From examining these 42 organizations closely, we find that there are companies that encompass the entire gamut of online gaming, including poker, casino, and sports betting operations, although some firms focus on only one or two of these types of wagering while others offer all three. There are single entities that manage just one website among the organizations targeted, but there are also larger groups containing multiple gaming enterprises within them.

What Does Louisiana Want?

Louisiana has sent each of the 42 above-named businesses cease-and-desist letters commanding them to stop offering gambling services in the Pelican State. Christopher B. Hebert, Chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, said:

These actions send a clear message. Louisiana will not tolerate illegal operators who put our citizens at risk and undermine the fairness and integrity of our gaming industry. We will continue to use every enforcement tool available to protect the public and uphold the law.

Louisiana's Timing Interesting

The timing of the LGCB's announcement of its recent actions against online casinos is notable in that it comes less than a week after Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry (R) vetoed a bill that would have banned sweepstakes gaming. In his veto message on bill SB 181, the governor explained that current gaming law already contained mechanisms for fighting against such gambling, and the bill was superfluous and perhaps even counterproductive. The recent actions by the LGCB may be a way of demonstrating the governor's contention that the existing system is adequate and that further legislation is unnecessary.

Mississippi

The Mississippi Gaming Commission (MGC) released its own statement on the same day that Louisiana did (June 17, 2025). The MGC explained that it had sent cease-and-desist letters both by mail and electronically to “multiple online gambling sites found operating illegally in Mississippi.”

The Commission accuses them of violating multiple specific laws, including:

• Mississippi criminal gambling laws
• The Mississippi Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act
• The Mississippi Gaming Control Act
• The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006
• The Federal Wire Act of 1961
• The Illegal Gambling Business Act

About the Targeted Sites

The Mississippi authorities have identified 10 sites that they claim are offering illegal gambling services to the state's residents. They are:

• americascardroom.eu
• betonline.ag
• betus.com.pa
• betwhale.ag
• bovada.lv
• chumbacasino.com
• ignitioncasino.eu
• lasatlantis.com
• mybookie.ag
• slotsandcasino.ag

This represents a diverse collection of gaming sites, including poker-focused entities, casino-game providers, sweepstakes operators, and sportsbooks. This list seems to contain just the names of specific websites rather than including any larger umbrella groups. Some of these companies, like Bovada, BetUS, and MyBookie, had already received cease-and-desist letters from the MGC in December 2024, but those letters had been ignored, and the operators targeted continued to accept Mississippi customers.

What Does Mississippi Want?

Mississippi contends that these organizations are offering illegal wagering products and wants them to stop. MGC Executive Director Jay McDaniel commented:

“Our laws are clear that casino style gaming and sports wagering are not allowed online in Mississippi, outside of a licensed casino. The MGC will aggressively pursue both domestic and offshore illegal operators, and the MGC is currently providing criminal case files to our state and federal law enforcement partners and requesting prosecution. Companies like those put on notice today mislead our residents by claiming to be legal outlets, when in fact they operate illegally and without providing any tax revenue or other tangible benefit to Mississippi.

Punitive Mississippi Law Invoked?

Curiously, the MGC states that anyone who has lost money to any unlicensed wagering firm may be able to recover their losses, including costs, under the terms of Mississippi Code Annotated § 87-1-5, which says:

If any person, by playing at any game whatever, or by betting on the sides or hands of such as do play at any game, or by betting on any horse race or cockfight, or at any other sport or pastime, or by any wager whatever, shall lose any money, property, or other valuable thing, real or personal, and shall pay or deliver the same or any part thereof, the person so losing and paying or delivering the same, or his wife or children, may sue for and recover such money, property, or other valuable thing so lost and paid or delivered, or any part thereof, from the person knowingly receiving the same, with costs.

The rest of the text of this law goes on to identify certain exceptions, like legally licensed Mississippi gambling and gambling taking place on cruise ships within Mississippi's territorial waters. If the state encourages individual gamblers to sue to recover their losses, this could actually provide some bite to the MGC's bark and make operators think twice when considering whether or not they wish to do business in the state.

Don't Let State Bureaucrats Scare You

It's one thing for regulators to send letters demanding that gaming companies stop serving their states, but it's quite another for these businesses to comply. Because offshore sites aren't under the jurisdiction of any state, they're effectively immune to prosecution from them. Therefore, there are many online gaming providers that continue to serve Louisiana and Mississippi regardless of what officials from these states may wish.

One of the best of them is Ignition Casino, which provides a 150% up to $1,500 bonus for new poker players and another $1,500 to use on casino games. Press the button below to create an Ignition account:

For more information about this online poker and casino site before signing up, read this comprehensive Ignition Casino Poker review. If you have questions about poker as it relates to the two states we've been discussing above, check out this detailed Mississippi online poker guide or this overview of internet poker in Louisiana. If you'd like to learn more about the game as it pertains to the country as a whole, then this offshore poker USA page is for you.

June 20, 2025 – by Max Golden, Editor-in-Chief