Florida Attorney General Targets VGW and Stake with Lawsuits Equating Sweepstakes Casinos to Illegal Gambling

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed lawsuits against VGW and Stake, alleging the companies operate illegal online casinos disguised as sweepstakes platforms. The complaints name multiple payment processors as defendants and were filed in Hillsborough County Circuit Court. Uthmeier stated the operators fail to follow safeguards or consumer protections required of licensed casinos under state law.

In an accompanying post on X, Uthmeier wrote: “If it looks like a casino, takes money like a casino, and pays out like a casino, it is a casino—and it’s illegal in Florida.” He added that the companies prey on Floridians, including minors and seniors, through deceptive marketing and constant access while dodging licensing, taxation, and consumer-protection rules.

Core Arguments in the Complaints

Both suits open with the same framing: the defendants call their products “sweepstakes” casinos as a “talismanic cure-all,” but “if it looks, swims, and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.” The complaints equate virtual currencies to casino poker chips. “Consumers who visit the Stake Defendants’ platform pay money in exchange for Stake Cash just like gamblers pay money in exchange for poker chips at a brick-and-mortar casino,” one filing states. Labeling it a “bonus” for buying Gold Coins does not change the fact, according to the complaints. The VGW suit applies identical logic to Sweeps Coins and describes Gold Coins as a “gateway drug” to real-money play.

The Stake complaint names payment processors Breeze Labs and Praxis Tech, owners Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani, and references their streaming platform Kick. It mentions rapper Drake’s promotional role but stops short of naming him a defendant. The VGW complaint targets Yodlee, Trustly, and Worldpay for facilitating payments on Chumba Casino, Global Poker, and LuckyLand Casino. It omits founder Lawrence Escalante.

Context of Failed Legislation and Growing Restrictions

The suits arrive after Florida lawmakers advanced but ultimately failed to pass SB1580, which would have banned the dual-currency sweepstakes model. The Senate and House passed differing versions, and time ran out for reconciliation. As a result, nearly all such platforms remain accessible to Florida residents; only Carnival Citi and GoldSlips block the state. It remains unclear why only VGW and Stake were singled out.

As reported by Casino Beats, VGW now blocks 16 states after adding Indiana and Maine in July, while Stake blocks 22 states. Other operators have closed entirely and some are shifting to prediction markets. These lawsuits test whether existing statutes already prohibit the sweepstakes approach without further legislation.

The Test for Enforcement

Court rulings will clarify the reach of current Florida gambling law against this business model. Operators in the space must now weigh continued access against the prospect of similar actions and decide whether the regulatory exposure justifies remaining in the state or accelerating model changes.

Reporting: Casino Beats

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