New York has settled with VGW, the company behind Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots and Global Poker, in a deal that requires the operator to pay the state $8 million and stop offering New Yorkers games that let them stake redeemable virtual items on games of chance.
The assurance of discontinuance, effective Aug. 31, says the payment covers disgorgement, restitution, penalties and costs. It says the money is due within 14 days of the effective date, and that the state accepted the agreement in place of starting a statutory proceeding under Executive Law § 63(12) and Penal Law §§ 225.10 and 225.20.
The settlement leaves VGW able to keep offering Gold Coin games in New York, but it draws a hard line around Sweeps Coin play. Under the agreement, New York consumers must be able to submit redemption requests for one year after the effective date for sweeps coins already in their accounts as of June 2, 2025, which takes the deadline to Aug. 31, 2027.
The New York attorney general’s office says the deal also reflects a broader finding that VGW’s model crossed the legal line. The assurance says VGW Malta Limited, VGW Luckyland Inc. and VGW GP Limited operated casino-themed online games through Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots and Global Poker, with New York launches dating to 2012, 2018 and 2016 respectively.
It says the sites offered online versions of slot machines and table games such as blackjack, roulette and craps. Users bought virtual coins for use inside the platforms, and VGW offered two types, gold coins and sweeps coins, with only sweeps coins eligible for cash or gift-card redemption.
The filing says packages were sold in a way that linked the two currencies, with the number of sweeps coins in most packages roughly equivalent to the purchase price. As one example, it says a $5 purchase yielded 5.05 sweeps coins and 1,000,000 gold coins.
The assurance also says VGW offered a way to get five sweeps coins free by retrieving a code from the website and mailing a handwritten request that met certain requirements. It says the company imposed no limit on how many packages a user could buy, and widely advertised the games in New York through social media and podcast spots.
The office said some promotions highlighted large cash wins, including a Chumba Casino Facebook post showing a player holding a check for $1,098,973.95 described as redeemable for that amount. The filing also says the company received a warning letter on April 25, 2025 telling it that most sweepstakes casinos are illegal in New York.
VGW stopped offering sweeps coins to New York residents on June 2, 2025. The assurance also says Governor Kathy Hochul later signed Senate Bill S5925A on Dec. 5, 2025, amending the state’s racing and wagering law to state expressly that the dual-coin model used by VGW is unlawful in New York.
As reported in June, Kentucky had already sued VGW over the same sweepstakes-casino model. The New York settlement says the company neither admits nor denies the state’s findings, and does not treat the agreement as an admission of liability.
