Florida Sues Stake, Chumba Casino and Other Sweepstakes Platforms over Alleged Illegal Gambling

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed two lawsuits targeting operators of major online sweepstakes casinos and their payment processors.

The cases seek to stop the platforms from soliciting Florida customers and recover money allegedly lost by consumers, along with penalties and other financial relief.

The complaints were filed Aug. 20 in Hillsborough County Circuit Court against operators associated with Stake and VGW’s Chumba Casino, LuckyLand and Global Poker, as well as payment companies accused of enabling transactions. The lawsuits allege the businesses violate Florida gambling laws and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Florida Challenges Dual-Currency Casino Model

In its announcement of the lawsuits, the Florida Attorney General’s Office said the platforms use dual-currency systems that disguise real-money gambling as sweepstakes or social gaming. The allegations have not yet been adjudicated by the court.

According to the complaints, customers can purchase packages of nonredeemable Gold Coins that come with a second currency identified as Stake Cash or Sweeps Coins. Florida alleges the second currency can be wagered on casino-style games and later redeemed for cryptocurrency, gift cards or cash after applicable play-through requirements.

The platforms offer games including slots, blackjack, roulette and poker, according to the state. Uthmeier argues that the ability to spend money, play games of chance and receive something of value makes the model subject to Florida’s gambling restrictions regardless of how the products are marketed.

“If it looks like a casino, takes real money like a casino, and pays out like a casino, it is a casino”, Uthmeier said. He also accused the businesses of avoiding licensing, taxation and consumer-protection requirements that apply to authorized gambling operators.

Lawsuits Seek Injunctions and Consumer Restitution

Florida is asking the court to permanently prohibit the defendants from operating or soliciting customers in the state. The complaints also seek forfeiture and recovery of money allegedly lost by Florida consumers, disgorgement of alleged unlawful gains, restitution, civil penalties under the state’s consumer-protection law and attorneys’ fees.

The inclusion of payment processors broadens the enforcement action beyond the companies directly offering the games. Florida alleges those businesses facilitate the financial infrastructure needed for consumers to purchase virtual currency and receive redemptions.

The lawsuits represent a new stage in Florida’s debate over sweepstakes-style gaming. Proposals targeting sweepstakes gaming failed to advance in the Florida Legislature in 2025, leaving enforcement questions to existing gambling and consumer-protection laws.

Sweepstakes Casinos Face Wider State Scrutiny

VGW’s Chumba Casino, LuckyLand and Global Poker have faced regulatory and legal pressure in other states over the same dual-currency structure. States including New York and New Jersey have taken steps to restrict sweepstakes gaming, while Stake has also faced litigation over whether its social-casino model constitutes unlawful gambling.

The Florida cases now move to Hillsborough County Circuit Court, where the defendants can contest the state’s allegations and requested remedies. No court has yet ruled in these lawsuits that the named businesses violated Florida gambling or consumer-protection laws.

RELATED TOPICS: Regulation