Casino Scam Uncovered: Louisiana Players Could Be Affected

(KMDL-FM)If you have a desire to risk your hard-earned money on a game of chance in Louisiana, there are several places you can do that. There are truck stop casinos in Duson, Crowley, St. Martinville, Jennings, and a myriad of other places. Louisiana is also home to 4 tribal casinos, 1 land-based casino, and 19 commercial casinos.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Of course, you could always play the Louisiana Lottery, too. That can be quite lucrative if the ping pong balls bounce your way. By the way, you could win $202 million tonight playing Mega Millions in Louisiana. Last night's Powerball wasn't a big deal. I think the largest prize won by a Louisiana-sold ticket was only $200. Granted, that's a 100x win on a two-dollar ticket, but still in the world of lottery winnings, $200 is small potatoes.

Naturally, any place where there is money being spent and money being made, ne'er-do-wells are standing at the ready to swoop in and claim your hard-earned money for their own ill-gotten gains. If you are a casino player, you might have already been targeted by a scam that's shown up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Courtesy of Beau Rivage

The scam involves online gambling. You know playing poker online or blackjack online or even craps or roulette or any other casino game online. I keep using "online" so that you are painfully aware this scam could be happening in the palm of your hand on your phone or your at-home computer.

Is Online Gambling Legal in Louisiana?

The reason we know this is a scam is that neither Louisiana nor Mississippi allows for online gambling. In Louisiana, you can make sports wagers, but casino games, nope, that's a violation of state law. The same holds true for Mississippi, and the scammers are targeting some of the major players along the coast.

As you can see, that looks very much like a legitimate advertisement from the Hollywood Casino Gulf Coast. Okay, if you take away the "fraudulent page alert" border. Scammers are using images from legitimate casino sites and posting them as ads on Facebook and other social media platforms in hopes that you'll input a credit card number.

So, just as you'd be careful with your money in a real casino, exercise that same caution while you're online, and just know. If you want to play, you're going to have to leave your house to play legally in both Louisiana and Mississippi.

What Should You Do If Targeted by an Online Casino Scam?

And if you spot one of these ads on your social media pages, do not interact with it. Among the bad things that could happen besides losing money, you could find your identity and credit scores at risk as well. These scammers don't play, so you shouldn't play with them.

Always make sure the sites you visit are legit. On social media, look for those blue checks and other confirmations that let you know you are on an official site, and if you're not sure. Then don't play.