Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed two lawsuits in Hillsborough County Circuit Court on 19 August, accusing Stake and VGW of running illegal online gambling operations through sweepstakes-style casino sites. The complaints also target payment processors, and the state is seeking to stop the businesses from operating in Florida.
According to the Florida attorney general’s office, the sites use a dual-currency model in which players buy Gold Coins and receive a second currency such as Stake Cash or Sweeps Coins. The state says those Sweeps Coins function as redeemable wagering credits that can be cashed out for cryptocurrency, gift cards or cash after minimal play-through requirements.
The complaints say the platforms offer casino games including slots, blackjack, roulette and poker while marketing themselves as free, safe, legal social entertainment. Florida argues that the structure is designed to make real-money gambling appear to be a lawful sweepstakes product.
The state also says the companies used deceptive advertising, 24/7 access, credit cards and other payment methods, along with influencers and celebrity campaigns, to attract consumers. The filings say the promotions highlighted large purported wins and targeted vulnerable users, including minors and seniors.
The relief sought is broad. The attorney general wants permanent injunctions barring the defendants from operating or soliciting in Florida, forfeiture and recovery of money lost by Florida consumers, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, restitution, civil penalties under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, attorneys’ fees and costs.
The Stake complaint names Sweepsteaks Ltd. d/b/a Stake.us, Easygo Group Holdings Pty Ltd., Medium Rare N.V., Kick Streaming Pty Ltd., Bijan Tehrani, Ed Craven, Praxis Tech Ltd. and Breeze Labs Payments Inc. The VGW complaint names VGW Holdings U.S. Inc., VGW U.S. Inc., VGW Luckyland, Inc., VGW Holdings Pty Ltd., VGW Malta LTD, VGW Malta Holding Limited, VGW Games Limited, plus payment processors Yodlee, Trustly and Worldpay.
As covered in June, Kentucky filed a similar suit against VGW over Chumba Casino, LuckyLand and Global Poker. Florida’s action adds another state-level challenge to the sweepstakes-casino model, which has faced growing legal pressure in recent months.
