Florida lawsuit targets payment processors in sweepstakes crackdown, setting potential US precedent

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed lawsuits against sweepstakes casino operators Stake and VGW, and crucially, their payment partners. The two complaints, lodged on Wednesday in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, name five financial technology and payment companies as defendants.

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, recover gambling losses, and secure restitution, disgorgement, costs, and civil penalties.

The suits seek penalties of up to $10,000 for each wilful violation. That maximum rises to $15,000 where a violation involves a disabled customer or someone over 60.

The case against VGW covers its Chumba Casino, LuckyLand, and Global Poker brands. It also names Yodlee, Trustly, and Worldpay as defendants. The Stake case names Sweepsteaks Ltd, Easygo, Medium Rare, Kick Streaming, and Stake co-founders Bijan Tehrani and Ed Craven. Praxis and Breeze Labs Payments, who manage payments for the platforms, are also defendants.

Each complaint focuses on sweepstakes casinos’ dual-currency model. Players buy Gold Coins bundled with Stake Cash or Sweeps Coins. Gold Coins have no redemption value, whereas Stake Cash and Sweeps Coins can be wagered on casino-style games and then redeemed under platform rules.

The Stake complaint says customers must wager Stake Cash three times before cashing out. The VGW complaint says its four platforms have different redemption thresholds. The state contends that calling the redeemable currency a free bonus does not change the underlying transaction.

Florida says the named payment firms provided the account connections, payment processing, transfers, and payouts needed for the sites to function. The VGW filing assigns separate roles to Yodlee, Trustly, and Worldpay. It says Yodlee linked bank accounts, Trustly transferred money, and Worldpay processed card payments.

The Stake filing makes similar claims about Praxis and Breeze. It alleges both knew about, or were wilfully blind to, regulatory scrutiny faced by Stake.

This approach has some precedent. New York’s December 2025 sweepstakes law prohibits financial institutions and payment processors from supporting prohibited games. Florida’s Legislature did not enact its own sweepstakes casino prohibition this year. The lawsuits instead rely on existing gambling and consumer-protection laws.

The state is seeking to recover 100% of the losses incurred by users of the platforms. More than 20 states have issued cease-and-desist orders against sweepstakes casino operators. At least 17 have banned or materially restricted the dual-currency model.

Those measures differ sharply. Connecticut, Montana, New Jersey, New York, and California adopted targeted laws during 2025. Indiana, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Tennessee added restrictions or enforcement powers during 2026. Oklahoma’s law takes effect on 1 November.

On the other hand, some efforts have failed. Virginia legislators continued, rather than enacted, their 2026 sweepstakes measure. Louisiana ultimately rejected an attempt to ban them, with Governor Jeff Landry arguing that existing laws were enough to allow for enforcement.

Florida’s broader gambling legislation failed after the House and Senate did not finalise the same version before the 2026 session ended. For the sector, the Florida cases put payment infrastructure directly into a state enforcement action. It is a government-led action without much precedent in the US, but which could result in similar responses in other states if successful.