John Cerasani Barred from Strip Casinos After Promoting Black Market Bookie

• John Cerasani has been barred from multiple Las Vegas Strip casinos
• The influencer promoted an unregulated sportsbook on his social feed
• He has nearly 800K Instagram followers

John Cerasani, a social media influencer and self-proclaimed “greatest blackjack player to ever walk the land,” is now persona non grata at several of the largest Las Vegas Strip casino resorts after he promoted an unregulated offshore internet casino and sportsbook on his Instagram feed.

Cerasani, who has 614K followers on one Instagram account and 173K on another, recently promoted MyBookie.ag on the social media platform. That company is based in Curacao and doesn’t hold licenses to offer iGaming and sports wagering in any US state, but has been the subject of cease-and-desist orders in this country. In January, the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) issued such a letter to the operator, noting MyBookie flouted the state’s Gaming Control and Revenue Act and its Internet Gaming and Revenue Act.

As indicated in the pictures below of a scantily clad female, Cerasani recently endorsed MyBookie on Instagram, and it appears his relationship with the illicit bookmaker was financial because he highlighted a promotional code to his followers.

iGaming is legal in just seven states, while sports wagering is permitted in 39. The gaming industry’s primary selling points in their pitches to state regulators to get those forms of wagering approved are promises of tax revenue and consumer safeguards — points threatened by black market, offshore operators.

A source speaking on the condition of anonymity told Casino.org that multiple Las Vegas casino operators, unwilling to run the reputational and regulatory risk of being associated with endorsers of illegal gaming sites, have barred Cerasani from their properties.

Tribal Casinos Also Ban Cerasani Over MyBookie Flap

The source also told Casino.org that Cerasani has been barred by Foxwoods in Connecticut, Hard Rock International, and Seminole Gaming.

The Seminole Tribe runs casinos in Florida bearing the Hard Rock name while Hard Rock International operates the other casinos sporting that brand in the US and around the world. In other words, it’s an expansive list of gaming venues the social media influencer can no longer wager at, including Hard Rock Casino Rockford in Illinois, which is near his hometown of Chicago.

It’s believed Hard Rock and Seminole were among the first gaming entities to take action upon learning Cerasani was pushing MyBookie to his Instagram followers. Though not surprising, the move is prudent from a regulatory perspective. In addition to holding a sports betting monopoly in Florida, Hard Rock Digital offers online sports wagering in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Arizona and Tennessee are among the members of that group that have been particularly active in issuing cease-and-desist letters to unlicensed gaming companies attempting to do business in those jurisdictions, and both have been successful in banishing some of those operators.

Cerasani Employs Familiar Influencer Tactics

In an effort to better connect with younger bettors, casinos, including those in Las Vegas, have liberalized their filming rules in recent years. Filming was once prohibited on casino floors, but in hopes of luring more social media-savvy Gen Zers and millennials, gaming companies have relaxed old protocols.

“A former W-2’er trying to share his path to a NOT GEN POP life. Entrepreneur. Venture Capitalist. Winner. The best blackjack player to ever walk the land,” according to his YouTube page.

“Gen pop” is prison parlance for “general population.” In this case, Cerasani is implying that his gambling successes have helped him avoid the rat race and live an extraordinary life.