Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) announced entrance into a $1.4 million settlement with High5Games, an online gambling service, after the company was accused of operating an illegal online casino
“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 Bryan Cafferelli, DCP Commissioner. “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.”
The terms of the settlement stipulate that High5 pays $643,000 in restitution to the 794 bettors who lost money on its platform, and around $800,000 for consumer complaint resolution programs, consumer education, and consumer protection enforcement and litigation. In return, the state has dropped 1,065 pending criminal charges against High5Games, and has reinstated their gaming license.
While High5Games was previously licensed in the state of Connecticut to provide slot content for other licensed gaming platforms, it had its license suspended on March 14 following an investigation by DCP’s Gaming Division. The Gaming Division determined High5 to be operating an illegal online sweepstakes casino, which it misrepresented in advertisements as being licensed to operate in Connecticut.
The investigation determined that High5 accepted bets from 1,100 state residents, 108 of whom were people who had signed up for the state’s Voluntary Self-Exclusion List. While 911 customers lost a total of $937,938, self-exclusion list bettors accounted for nearly a third of these losses, losing around $300,000 in total.
When Connecticut legalized online gambling in 2021, the law required licensed operators to allow gamblers to sign up for self-exclusion lists, which would provide problematic gamblers the option to limit account creation, bet placement, or allow them to set betting limits. Essentially, High5 was alleged to have let over 100 problematic gamblers use its platform without any of the limits that would have been placed upon them by legal casinos.
Connecticut is the second state to have settled with High5 this year over its online casino. In February, the state of Washington ordered High5 to pay $24.9 million back to state bettors.
“We are satisfied with the outcome of this investigation, which has resulted in the return of funds to consumers who were harmed by the unfair marketing of an unlicensed sweepstakes casino,” said Kris Gilman, Director of DCP’s Gaming Division. “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.”
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