Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed two separate complaints on August 19, 2026, targeting Stake and VGW over their alleged sweepstakes casino operations. The Florida sweepstakes lawsuit actions, filed in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, also name payment processors connected to the platforms and seek permanent injunctions, restitution, disgorgement, recovery of consumer losses, civil penalties, and attorneys’ fees.
The lawsuits follow subpoenas issued by Uthmeier’s office in January 2026 and come after Florida lawmakers failed to enact several gambling measures during the state’s 2026 legislative session that could potentially have affected sweepstakes casino models.
Florida Sweepstakes Lawsuit Targets Two Operator Groups
Rather than filing one complaint covering both companies, Uthmeier filed two separate cases.
The first targets VGW and its Chumba Casino, LuckyLand, and Global Poker platforms. Yodlee, Trustly, and Worldpay Holdco are among the payment-related defendants named in that case.
The second complaint targets Sweepstakes Ltd., doing business as Stake.us. Stake co-founders Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani are named individually, while Praxis Tech Ltd. and Breeze Labs Payments Inc. are among the payment-related defendants.
The cases therefore extend beyond the companies operating the gaming platforms. By including payment processors, the Attorney General’s complaints also focus on businesses the state alleges helped facilitate transactions connected with the platforms.
That approach follows a broader pattern of state scrutiny of online gaming businesses. Our coverage of Arizona gambling enforcement involving ClubWPT provides another recent example of state officials using existing laws in an enforcement action involving online gaming.
What Florida Is Alleging
Both complaints allege violations of Florida gambling statutes and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, commonly known as FDUTPA.
The Attorney General alleges that the sweepstakes casino operations identified in the complaints amount to illegal online gambling under existing Florida law. The complaints challenge the platforms’ dual-currency structures and their characterization as sweepstakes or social gaming services.
That distinction matters: these are allegations made by the state in civil complaints. Filing a lawsuit does not establish that every allegation has been proven, and the defendants will have the opportunity to respond through the court process.
Gambling Insider reported on the Florida complaints, including the payment processors named and the earlier subpoenas issued by Uthmeier’s office.
Legal Sports Report also covered the lawsuits, including the platforms involved, the state’s allegations, and the remedies being sought.
What the Florida Sweepstakes Lawsuit Seeks
Florida is asking the court for several forms of relief against the defendants.
According to the complaints, the Attorney General seeks:
- Permanent injunctions
- Disgorgement of profits
- Restitution to consumers
- Forfeiture or recovery of money allegedly lost by Florida consumers
- Civil penalties under FDUTPA
- Attorneys’ fees and costs
Florida law provides for civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each willful FDUTPA violation. Separate provisions allow penalties of up to $15,000 for certain violations involving senior citizens age 60 or older, people with disabilities, military servicemembers, or qualifying family members.
A permanent injunction could restrict conduct covered by a future court order if Florida succeeds in its claims. Disgorgement, restitution, and recovery of alleged consumer losses are among the financial remedies requested by the Attorney General.
The inclusion of both operational and financial defendants makes the Florida sweepstakes lawsuit broader than an action directed solely at the companies behind the gaming platforms.
VGW Revenue Cited in the Complaint
The scale of VGW’s business is another element cited in reporting on the enforcement action.
According to the VGW complaint, the company’s platforms generated more than $5 billion in revenue in 2025, with approximately $3.7 billion attributed to Chumba Casino.
Chumba Casino is one of the VGW brands named in Florida’s complaint, alongside LuckyLand and Global Poker.
Those figures provide context for the size of the business involved in one of the two cases. They do not, however, determine whether the Attorney General will succeed on the legal claims presented in the complaint.
Florida Sweepstakes Lawsuit Follows January Subpoenas
The August lawsuits were not Uthmeier’s first action involving sweepstakes gaming in 2026.
His office disclosed in January that subpoenas had been issued to sweepstakes operators as part of an effort to examine how the platforms worked. At that stage, Uthmeier also indicated that his office was willing to speak with operators.
The two complaints filed on August 19 represent a further enforcement step several months later.
The timing is notable because Florida lawmakers also considered several gambling measures during the 2026 legislative session. Those proposals addressed subjects including internet gambling, tougher penalties, and expanded enforcement authority, with some provisions potentially broad enough to affect sweepstakes casino models.
None of those measures ultimately became law, and the bills did not expressly create a statewide sweepstakes casino ban.
As a result, the Attorney General’s current cases rely on existing Florida gambling statutes and FDUTPA rather than a newly enacted sweepstakes-specific prohibition.
That makes the Florida sweepstakes lawsuit an important case to follow for operators and players watching how Florida applies its existing laws to the dual-currency sweepstakes casino model.
Why the Payment Processor Claims Matter
One of the most notable features of the complaints is the decision to name companies involved in payment processing.
The VGW case includes Yodlee, Trustly, and Worldpay Holdco. The Stake case includes Praxis Tech Ltd. and Breeze Labs Payments Inc.
Naming these companies means Florida’s cases do not focus only on the platforms visible to players. The Attorney General alleges that payment-related defendants also played a role in facilitating transactions associated with the operations.
Whether the court accepts those allegations will depend on how the litigation develops.
For the broader sweepstakes industry, the claims are worth watching because payment infrastructure is a key part of how online platforms operate. A court ruling affecting processors could potentially have implications beyond the two operator groups currently named, although the outcome of the Florida cases remains unresolved.
What Players Should Watch Next
For players, the main point is that these are active legal challenges brought by Florida’s Attorney General against two major sweepstakes casino groups.
Across the two complaints, the Florida sweepstakes lawsuit actions involve Stake.us, Chumba Casino, LuckyLand, Global Poker, company founders, related entities, and multiple payment processors.
They also arrive amid wider changes affecting sweepstakes gaming in the United States. For example, our report on Pragmatic Play sweepstakes casino games leaving the U.S. market covers another recent development affecting the sector.
Players should avoid assuming that older information about platform access, availability, or terms remains current while legal and regulatory conditions are changing.
It is also important to review the rules presented by any service being used. Our guide to sweepstakes casino promotional terms explains the types of information players should check, including eligibility, promotional conditions, and any applicable no-purchase entry provisions.
Florida Sweepstakes Lawsuit: What Happens Next?
The two lawsuits now move through the Florida court system unless they are resolved through dismissal, settlement, or another procedural outcome.
The central question is whether Florida can successfully apply its existing gambling and consumer-protection laws to the sweepstakes casino structures challenged in the complaints.
For now, the Attorney General’s allegations remain allegations. Players and operators should watch for court filings, responses from the defendants, rulings on any motions, and changes to platform availability or policies that may follow.
The Florida sweepstakes lawsuit is especially significant because the state is challenging not only the operators but also companies involved in the payment infrastructure surrounding the platforms.
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Disclaimer: 18+ only. Void where prohibited. This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice.