Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed lawsuits against sweepstakes casino operators Stake and VGW, along with several of their payment partners.
The two complaints were filed on Wednesday, 19 August, in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, targeting the operators and five financial technology and payment companies.
The state alleges illegal gambling and deceptive conduct under Florida gambling laws and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Uthmeier is seeking to halt the businesses’ Florida operations and recover gambling losses, restitution, disgorgement, costs, and civil penalties from all defendants.
The suits carry penalties of up to $10,000 per wilful violation, rising to $15,000 where a violation involves a disabled customer or someone over the age of 60.
The case against VGW covers its Chumba Casino, LuckyLand, and Global Poker brands, with Yodlee, Trustly, and Worldpay also named as defendants.
The Stake complaint names Sweepsteaks Ltd, Easygo, Medium Rare, Kick Streaming, and Stake co-founders Bijan Tehrani and Ed Craven as defendants.
Payment firms Praxis and Breeze Labs Payments, which manage payments for the Stake platform, are also included in that filing.
Both complaints focus on the sweepstakes casino dual-currency model, through which players purchase Gold Coins bundled with either Stake Cash or Sweeps Coins.
Gold Coins carry no redemption value, while Stake Cash and Sweeps Coins can be wagered on casino-style games and later redeemed under each platform’s own rules.
The Stake complaint states that customers must wager Stake Cash three times before cashing out, while the VGW complaint notes its platforms each carry different redemption thresholds.
Florida contends that describing the redeemable currency as a free bonus does not change the nature of the underlying financial transaction.
The VGW filing assigns distinct roles to each named payment processor, alleging Yodlee linked bank accounts, Trustly transferred money, and Worldpay handled card payments.
The Stake filing makes comparable claims about Praxis and Breeze, alleging both knew about, or were wilfully blind to, the regulatory scrutiny surrounding Stake.
Targeting payment processors directly is a notable feature of both complaints, and represents a government-led enforcement approach with limited precedent across the United States.
New York’s December 2025 sweepstakes law does prohibit financial institutions and payment processors from supporting prohibited games, providing a degree of legislative comparison.
Florida’s Legislature did not pass a dedicated sweepstakes casino prohibition this year, so the lawsuits instead rely on existing gambling and consumer protection statutes.
The state is seeking to recover 100% of losses incurred by users of both platforms, which significantly raises the financial stakes for all defendants named.
More than 20 states have issued cease-and-desist orders against sweepstakes casino operators, while at least 17 have banned or materially restricted the dual-currency model.
States including Connecticut, Montana, New Jersey, New York, and California adopted targeted legislation during 2025, with Indiana, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Tennessee adding further restrictions or enforcement powers during 2026.
Not all state-level efforts have succeeded, with Louisiana ultimately rejecting a ban after Governor Jeff Landry argued existing laws were sufficient for enforcement.
If Florida’s actions against payment processors prove successful, other states may pursue similar strategies, placing payment infrastructure at the centre of future sweepstakes casino enforcement efforts.
