Florida Sues Stake, VGW and Payment Firms Over Alleged Illegal Gambling

Stake.us and VGW brands including Chumba Casino, LuckyLand and Global Poker market themselves as social or sweepstakes gaming rather than conventional casinos. Their dual-currency systems pair purchased Gold Coins with redeemable Stake Cash or Sweeps Coins, allowing users to play casino-style games and cash out prizes. Florida says the structure amounts to unlicensed gambling that sidesteps taxation and consumer safeguards. Naming payment companies as defendants broadens the enforcement risk beyond operators to the financial infrastructure that enables deposits and withdrawals.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed two complaints on Aug. 19, 2026, in Hillsborough County Circuit Court. The Stake case names Praxis Tech and Breeze Labs Payments, while the VGW action targets Yodlee, Trustly and Worldpay Holdco. The state is seeking permanent injunctions, restitution for consumer losses, disgorgement and costs, as well as civil penalties of as much as $15,000 for each willful violation. No aggregate damages figure was disclosed, but the complaints seek to hold the processors liable alongside the casino operators.