"Pari-mutuel" means a system of betting on races or games in which the winners divide the total amount bet in proportion to the sumes they have wagered individually and with regard to the odds assigned to particular outcomes.
"Internet cafes or "sweepstake" cafes advertise and sell Internet time or long-distance telephone minutes that the gambler does not want. Along with that unwanted product, the customer receives a supposed bonus of 'entries' in the Internet sweepstakes. With those entries, the customer can participate in Internet-based games at the cafe’s specially-programmed personal computers.
Based on a random allocation of winning and losing entries, the customer may or may not win cash prizes through those games.
According to every appellate court that has decided a case involving similar games, it is incontestably gambling.
According to the cafes that are reaping unregulated profits, this elaborate masquerade is not gambling, but a sweepstakes. " American Gaming Association
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