VGW $8 Million Settlement
New York secures an $8 million settlement with sweepstakes casino operator VGW over unlicensed gambling.
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Key Points
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New York’s warning came in stages: the Attorney General’s Office issued its initial notice to VGW on April 25, 2025, and the company halted its New York sweepstakes operations on June 2, 2025.
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The settlement, dated August 31, 2026, requires VGW to make its $8 million payment within two weeks.
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VGW customers could purchase packages containing “gold coins” and redeemable “sweeps coins”; the latter could be used on slots, blackjack, roulette and craps before being exchanged for cash or gift cards. The investigation also found no limit on how frequently customers could buy coin packages.
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VGW was one of more than two dozen sweepstakes operators that received cease-and-desist notices from James’s office in 2025; the office had not announced settlements with the other operators at the time of the reports.
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The settlement allows certain former New York customers who were not previously notified by VGW to request redemption of eligible sweepstakes coins that remained in their accounts when the company stopped operating in the state.
New York secured an $8 million settlement with VGW, the operator of Chumba Casino, Global Poker, and LuckyLand Slots, over charges of running unlicensed online gambling in the state FishDuck. VGW used a dual-currency scheme — selling packages with "gold coins" and exchangeable "sweeps coins" — that let customers gamble without risking real money upfront, sidestepping state licensing requirements Casino.com. The company stopped serving New York players in June 2025 after receiving a cease-and-desist order.
Attorney General Letitia James said unlicensed platforms lack audits and safeguards that protect players. Some New Yorkers lost tens of thousands of dollars on VGW's sites CDC Gaming. The settlement, finalized August 31, 2026, requires VGW to pay within two weeks and allows former customers to redeem leftover sweeps coins from their accounts PlayUSA.
How VGW's Coin System Bypassed State Rules
VGW's scheme worked like this: customers bought packages containing both gold coins and sweeps coins. Players used sweeps coins on slots, blackjack, roulette, and craps. After gambling, they could exchange winnings for cash or gift cards Casino.com. Crucially, no daily or weekly limits existed on coin purchases, letting heavy players spend without restriction CDC Gaming. The state viewed this setup as illegal gambling because sweeps coins held real cash value.
New York's Enforcement Action in Two Stages
New York's Attorney General first warned VGW on April 25, 2025. The company ignored the warning. On June 2, 2025, VGW halted all sweepstakes gambling services to New Yorkers FishDuck. Later that same year, New York formally banned online sweepstakes casinos statewide. VGW was one of more than two dozen sweepstakes operators that received cease-and-desist notices; no other settlements had been announced at the time of reporting PlayUSA.
Settlement Terms and Former Customers' Options
The $8 million covers disgorgement of profits, restitution to harmed players, penalties, and legal costs Gambling Insider. VGW neither admitted nor denied the state's findings. Former New York customers who were never notified by VGW can now request to redeem eligible sweeps coins still in their accounts. The payment deadline is within two weeks of the August 31, 2026 settlement date PlayUSA.
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