Spirit Mountain Casino warns customers not to fall for fake app promotion

By Nicole Montesano

Smoke Signals staff writer

Social media advertisements claiming that Spirit Mountain Casino is now offering online betting options through a downloadable app is a scam, Spirit Mountain Casino CEO Camille Mercier said.

She warned that customers should not download any app purporting to be from Spirit Mountain Casino and should report such ads as fraudulent.

The online ads show actual pictures of the casino’s logo and tickets, but have no connection to Spirit Mountain, Mercier confirmed in an email. At least some of them appear to be originating in other countries.

Casino Marketing Director Eric Larsen said in an email that scams targeting individuals online are becoming increasingly sophisticated and fake app promotions are one of the most prevalent tactics used by cybercriminals.

“Unfortunately, Spirit Mountain Casino has not been immune to these schemes, with scammers attempting to exploit the casino’s trusted reputation to lure unsuspecting victims into downloading fake apps,” he said. “These fraudulent apps often promise rewards, jackpots or special offers but instead compromise personal information or financial security.”

Spirit Mountain Casino does offer a BetMGM Sports Spirit Mountain app, however, customers must be physically on the property to place a bet.

Spirit Mountain has been reporting scam advertisements to Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, Larsen said, and has enlisted known and trusted advertising partners to monitor for suspicious activity, and to report fraudulent ads to the appropriate platforms.

“The most powerful tool against online scams is community vigilance,” he said. “Spirit Mountain Casino has posted multiple times online so that its followers can report any suspicious ads or activities they encounter. Reporting fraudulent content on social media platforms is a simple but effective way to disrupt scams and prevent others from falling victim.”

Larsen advised people to be skeptical of anything that sounds too good to be true and encouraged them to visit Spirit Mountain’s official website or social media pages to double check whether a promotion is real, and to report any suspicious activity to both the platform and the casino.