🎰 USA🇺🇸: Florida Attorney General takes action against “social” casinos

🎰 USA🇺🇸: Florida Attorney General takes action against “social” casinos

The Attorney General of the state of Florida filed a lawsuit against operators Stake and VGW for allegedly offering illegal gambling. This is not the first time the companies have been accused of offering games involving real monetary value under “sweepstakes” models, but the allegations will have to be established through judicial proceedings.

🎲 The substance of the case: according to the complaint, Stake and VGW, through misleading advertising for lotteriesand “social casinos”, allegedly drew users into gambling activities, violating state laws.

🎲 The operators face:

⛔️ a ban on operating in the state of Florida;

⛔️ fines;

⛔️ confiscation of illegally obtained profits;

⛔️ payment of compensation to consumers and legal costs.

🎲 In addition to the operators' legal entities, the filing names payment service providers allegedly involved in the operations. In the case of Stake, besides Sweepstakes Ltd., which operates under the Stake.us brand, the filing names Trustly, Praxis and Breeze Labs. The lawsuit against VGW names Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, LuckyLand Casino and Global Poker, as well as payment providers Worldpay, Trustly and Worldpay Holdco.

🎲 Operating model: consumers are attracted to a "social casino" that allegedly recreates a traditional casino experience, while not involving direct monetary wagering. Instead, the operator offers "gold coins" and, as a "free" promotional incentive, another type of credit — called Stake Cash by Stake — which can be used in the casino and redeemed at a 1:1 rate against the U.S. dollar.

📎 Context:

▪️ Stake is an online casino registered in Curaçao🇨🇼 since 2017. In 2024, its revenue reached USD 4.7 billion.

▪️ In most jurisdictions, players place bets using cryptocurrency; in the United Kingdom🇬🇧, only fiat currency is permitted.

▪️ Stake advertising was placed on a restricted list on Twitch due to consumer protection concerns. The company subsequently launched Kick, a platform similar to Twitch.

▪️ In October 2025, Stake faced a similar lawsuit in the state of Missouri. The case also involved rapper Drake, who was accused of actively promoting the platform through advertising on social media.

#news #USA #gambling #crypto

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