In a recent post about legal issues with the social casino sweepstakes model, we indicated that a recent RICO lawsuit against a social casino sweepstakes model, which also named Apple and Google, was dismissed voluntarily by...more
We recently wrote about the flurry of legal issues with the social casino sweepstakes model. Now, the New York State Senate Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee passed S5935, a bill that, if fully approved and enacted,...more
3/25/2025
/ Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Gaming ,
New Jersey ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
Online Gaming ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
RICO ,
Sweepstakes
Social casino games remain incredibly popular and profitable. This success has drawn attacks from plaintiffs’ class action lawyers in the form of gambling loss recovery lawsuits and other consumer-based actions. Some have...more
In the latest string of gambling cases involving social casino-style apps out of Washington state, a federal jury has awarded a class of players nearly $25 million for injuries arising from the use of two of High 5 Game’s...more
2/13/2025
/ Casinos ,
Class Action ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Litigation ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Gambling ,
Gaming ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Washington
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched a ‘Crypto Task Force’ page on its website, outlining the agency’s crypto regulatory agenda under the agency’s new leadership. This initiative follows the exit of...more
2/7/2025
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FDIC ,
FinTech ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Trump Administration
Until fall 2023, there were few SEC enforcements or litigations involving securities issues with non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”). This has changed dramatically. In rapid succession last fall, the SEC undertook two enforcements...more
1/2/2025
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Virtual Currency
This year, the SEC has ramped up its enforcement efforts against digital asset marketplaces for selling non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) (and other digital assets) the agency alleges are securities. In response, some potential...more
1/2/2025
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Virtual Currency
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) published a report on Banking in Video Games and Virtual Worlds (“Report”) that warns of greater scrutiny of and enforcements against the financial services offered in games...more
The SEC has charged and settled claims with two Investment advisers with making false and misleading statements about their use of artificial intelligence (AI). The SEC found that Delphia (USA) Inc. and Global Predictions...more
The SEC has, in rapid fire, announced enforcements against two NFT projects for allegedly violating securities laws. The first action announced August 28, 2023 was against Impact Theory and the second action announced...more
On Monday, October 24, 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against two alleged Chinese intelligence officers for bribing and stealing documents to obstruct the criminal investigation of, reportedly, Huawei...more
For quite some time, we have been advising that marketplaces and NFT/crypto issuers consider developing an insider trading policy. The SEC is now investigating this issue. If you do not have a policy this is a good time to do...more
While the crypto community is rightfully focused on the Ripple case to see how the SEC will fare in court on enforcements alleging cryptocurrency offerings are a security, a lesser-known case may provide clarity first. The...more
6/1/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Motion for Judgment ,
Motion To Intervene ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Summary Judgment ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action last Monday, November 8, 2021, and sanctioned a Latvia-based exchange, Chatex, its associated support network, and two ransomware operators for...more
11/17/2021
/ Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ransomware ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Treasury
The chances are high that your company uses open source software (“OSS”) in some capacity. While the benefits of OSS are clear, it is also clear that OSS can pose significant legal risks that must be addressed. The best way...more
6/19/2019
/ Copyright ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Open Source Software ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Management ,
SaaS ,
Software ,
Software Developers ,
Software Licenses ,
Technology Sector
Last week we reported that FinCEN had issued new guidance addressing cryptocurrency and other convertible virtual currency. The need for compliance was reinforced this week. In a speech by Sigal Mandelker, Under Secretary for...more
5/15/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Services Business ,
Money Transmitter ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Virtual Currency
Smart contracts, also referred to as chaincode in the Hyperledger world, are one of the most powerful aspects of blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). This “self-executing” code can receive various inputs and,...more
11/28/2018
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchanges ,
Smart Contracts ,
Technology Sector ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
Recently, there has been a frenzy of legal activity with U.S. gambling laws and the number of gambling-related legal issues with video games. U.S. gambling laws have changed more in the past few years than they have in a long...more
9/14/2018
/ Blockchain ,
Casinos ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
eSports ,
Fantasy Sports ,
Gambling ,
Game of Skill ,
Games of Chance ,
Internet ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Gaming ,
PASPA ,
Sports Betting ,
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) ,
Video Games ,
Virtual Currency ,
Virtual Goods ,
Wire Act
The SEC has been busy over the past couple of weeks addressing blockchain and crypto-related issues.
ETF Activity -
The SEC rejected, for a second time, a request by the Winklevoss brothers for a Bitcoin exchange-traded...more
As we have previously reported, the subject of loot boxes has received increasing scrutiny around the world. In one of the most recent pronouncements, the Dutch Gambling Authority (the “Authority”) declared the loot box...more
The SEC shut down a “fantasy” stock picking game for allegedly violating securities laws. Forcerank LLC ran contests via mobile phone games where players paid a fee and predicted the order in which 10 securities would perform...more