Florida Sues Stake.us and Chumba Casino Operator VGW

There's been another lawsuit filed against sweepstakes casinos, and this time, it's Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier coming after operators like Chumba Casino, LuckyLand, Global Poker, and Stake.us. 

The former three in that set are all under the Virtual Gaming Worlds umbrella, whereas Stake.us is the US-based sweepstakes casino brand for the crypto casino, Stake.com. 

Uthmeier alleges that these sweepstakes casinos engage in illegal and unlicensed online casino play, violating Florida gambling laws and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

“These so-called ‘sweepstakes’ and ‘social casinos’ are illegal online gambling operations,” said Attorney General James Uthmeier in a statement last week. “If it looks like a casino, takes real money like a casino, and pays out like a casino, it is a casino—and it is illegal under Florida law. These companies have been preying on Floridians, including minors and seniors, with deceptive marketing, and 24/7 access, while dodging our state’s licensing, taxation, and consumer-protection requirements. They must be stopped.”

Florida Targets VGW and Stake.us in Separate Lawsuits

This lawsuit comes after Kentucky filed a lawsuit against prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket, as well as Virtual Gaming Worlds. 

With VGW and Stake being separate entities, these were two different suits. VGW lists nine parties, and Stake lists eight, including figures such as Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani. 

In the VGW suit, there's mention of Sweeps Coins and that they are a "proxy" for real money, purchased as part of a package at a 1:1 rate. Then, for the Stake suit, they reference Stake Cash, which is the Sweeps Coins equivalent. 

In addition to the casinos and some figures, Florida also named payment processors like Yodlee, Trustly, and Worldpay Holdco (VGW), as well as Praxis Tech Ltd. and Breeze Labs Payments Inc. (Stake.us). 

Florida Seeks Permanent Ban and Civil Penalties

In Florida's complaint, they also mention that VGW generated more than $5 billion in revenue in 2025, with most of that ($3.7 billion) from Chumba Casino. They mention celebrity endorsements by Ryan Seacrest (Chumba Casino) and Michael Phelps (Global Poker). 

As for Stake, the complaint alleges it generated $4.7 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2024. 

The goal? Both suits seek a permanent injunction barring them from operating in Florida and civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation (up to $15,000 per violation involving a minor, a person with a disability, or a senior citizen).