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The Attorney General of Florida, James Uthmeier, has filed lawsuits against Stake, VGW, and their payment processors, accusing the companies of offering illegal sweepstakes casinos.
The lawsuits were announced on August 19, 2026, and were filed in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, with the Attorney General arguing that the companies operate illegally in the state of Florida. According to the lawsuits, both Stake and VGW have breached the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
AG Uthmeier wrote:
“These companies cannot hide illegal gambling behind a sweepstakes label. 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.”
For the case against Stake, the lawsuit has named Easygo, Sweepstakes Ltd, Medium Rare, Kick Streaming, and co-founders Bijan Tehrani and Ed Craven, as well as payment processors for the platform Praxis and Breeze Labs Payments.
Stake’s case revolves around the Chumba Casino, Global Poker, and LuckyLand brands, while Yodlee, Trustly, and Worldplay are named as defendants for managing the platforms’ payments.
According to the lawsuits, the Attorney General has asked the court to require both operators to stop their operations, and he seeks to recover gambling losses, secure restitution, costs, civil penalties, and disgorgement.
Uthmeier further stated:
“I enforce our laws to protect consumers from illegal schemes that take their money. Sites like Stake and those run by VGW market themselves as sweepstakes or social casinos, but they offer real gambling – slots, blackjack, and poker. They’ve raked in hundreds of millions of dollars from people in our state.”
The operators could face fines of up to $10,000 for every violation, with the maximum penalty going up to $15,000 if the breach involved a user over the age of 40 or a disabled individual.
