Louisiana Dept. of Revenue Suing VGW and WOW Vegas

There's another lawsuit involving sweepstakes casinos, and this time, it's in Louisiana. 

The Louisiana Department of Revenue has filed a lawsuit against two notable companies, Virtual Gaming Worlds and MW Services Limited, alleging they owe $44 million in unpaid taxes and more. 

Virtual Gaming Worlds is the operator behind Chumba Casino, Global Poker, and LuckyLand Slots. MW Service Limited is behind WOW Vegas. 

More About the Lawsuits

This lawsuit comes after Louisiana vetoed a bill earlier this year that would have banned sweepstakes casinos. 

While Gov. Jeff Landry vetoed the bill, it wasn't an endorsement of sweepstakes casinos. He did it on the basis that the state can go after them as illegal gambling outfits. 

Since then, cease-and-desist letters have gone out to numerous outlets in the state. 

Now, there are these lawsuits.

The cases were filed in the 19th Judicial District Court. The suits allege VGW owes $30.5 million and that MW Services owes $13.6 million. 

According to Casino Industry News, those figures were calculated based on base tax amounts of $16.7 million for VGW and $7.5 million for MW, in addition to interest. That translates to revenues of $159 million for VGW and $71.4 million for MW Services Limited. 

A Timeline Of What's Happened in Louisiana 

Dating back to April, a bill was introduced by Senator Adam Bass, SB 181, with the intent of banning sweepstakes casinos. 

As mentioned, this bill passed but was eventually vetoed by Gov. Landry on the premise that it falls under the jurisdiction of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board. 

Just after that, 42 cease-and-desist letters were sent out to offshore gambling sites and sweepstakes casinos. 

A few weeks after that, the Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill submitted an opinion on the matter, writing, “Online businesses offering casino-style games – purporting to be sweepstakes or social gaming platforms – are operating in violation of Louisiana law. These activities constitute illegal gambling and illegal gambling by computer under multiple provisions.”

Other Sweepstakes Casino News

There are two other states with notable sweepstakes casino news happening right now. 

In California, AB 831, passed in the Senate with a 36-0 vote, and is on the verge of heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk. Additionally, the Los Angeles City attorney filed a lawsuit against the operator of Stake.us, Sweepsteaks Lt,d and several game/software providers. 

In New York, a law to ban sweepstakes casinos has passed and is on the desk of Gov. Kathy Hochul right now.