VGW CEO Laurence Escalante Is Angry with Investors’ Critiques  

Laurence Escalante, the founder and chief executive officer of sweepstakes giant Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), has gone off on a rant against investors who are critical of his company’s way of doing business. The Australian billionaire urged those who do not trust his team to simply leave.

Escalante: Those Who Do Not Trust VGW Should Quit Being Stakeholders

Escalante’s rant comes amid shareholder distrust due to what many have perceived as a lack of transparency. Despite its growth and the overall expansion of the controversial sweepstakes sector, VGW has yet to set up an online investor hub where its shareholders can get more information.

In addition to that, VGW decided to switch from biannual to annual reporting and some investors have felt being left in the dark. As a result, some of the company’s investors have critiqued the company, infuriating Escalante.

In a post on Telegram, the billionaire slammed his company’s critics, saying that there is a reason his company does what it does. In his post, Escalante explained that the company shares what it chooses to and always tries to avoid possible legal complications or unequal information. Then, he proceeded to say that people who do not trust the company can simply sell their stakes.

In addition to that, Escalante seemed quite angry at financial specialist Ricky Saini who’s previously been critical of VGW. Escalante said that Saini should “shut the fuck up” since he doesn’t have “any idea” what he is talking about. The Perth billionaire proceeded to redirect his frustration toward anyone “talking shit” about his company as a whole.

He added that people don’t know what the company is dealing with and that he cannot tell them either since that would be against the Corporations Act.

This was notably not the first time Escalante had lost his temper online. In a recent post on Instagram, he was livid due to people allegedly spreading “destructive rumors” about his personal life.

VGW Faces Regulatory Trouble in the US and Australia

VGW, for context, is one of the leading sweepstakes operators right now. The company’s Chumba Casino and Luckyland Slots brands have steadily expanded in popularity, especially in the US, where the company has faced serious regulatory pushback.

Despite the regulatory trouble encountered in several states and America’s increasingly critical stance on sweepstakes as a whole, VGW’s profits have continued to soar.

This success, however, has also attracted many new shareholders, not all of whom have been happy with the company’s alleged lack of transparency.

In addition to the regulatory trouble in America, VGW is also facing tax scrutiny in Australia where the Taxation Office launched a review into the company’s business.

America Continues to Defy Sweepstakes

In the meantime, VGW and the sweepstakes sector as a whole face strong pushback in the US. Sweepstakes, which are generally considered to be gray market operators at best and illegal online casinos at worst, have become a point of contention.

While sweepstakes exploit a loophole that allows their products to not fall under the gambling category, some haven’t bought this business model and have accused such companies of operating illegally. These sentiments remain strongest among regulators, regulated industry stakeholders and tribal casino operators who feel that sweepstakes companies’ operation is unfair to their businesses since sweeps operators do not have to obey the same licensing and regulatory principles.

As a result, several states have proposed anti-sweepstakes measures and some regulators have sent cease-and-desist orders to sweeps companies. VGW, in particular, has so far exited Connecticut, Idaho, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, and Washington because of such orders.

Some sweepstakes operators have expressed willingness to operate as legal entities, as long as they are given the chance. However, New Jersey stands as the sole outlier, which has considered the idea.