New York Attorney General Letitia James closed the book this week on VGW in the Empire State without fully throwing it at the global sweepstakes casino company.
James announced an $8 million settlement with the host of Chumba Casino, Global Poker and Luckyland Slots as part of a deal settling allegations of operating an illegal gambling operation. The company operated in New York from 2012 through June 2025, after James sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding VGW stop offering sweepstakes games two months earlier.
In addition to the $8 million payment to New York, VGW’s brands must contact players who previously did not redeem outstanding sweeps coins and allow them to do so for a year following the agreement. In return, VGW does not admit to any of the state’s criminal allegations put forward by the state.
“Our state’s gambling laws are designed to protect New Yorkers,” James said in a statement. “Online sweepstakes casinos like Chumba Casino, Global Poker, and Luckyland Slots posed a dangerous threat to New Yorkers and their financial and mental health. My office took action to stop these illegal platforms last year, and now we are holding VGW accountable for the damage done.”
The $8 million settlement is comprised of disgorgement and penalties as well. That amount barely creates a ripple in VGW’s ocean of cash, however, as the Australia-based operator posted more than US $5bn in revenue in 2025 before founder Laurence Escalante took the company private.
New York on front lines of gambling battles
The VGW arrangement feels pale in comparison to James’s recent moves within the gambling space. Most notable is her $36bn battle against Kalshi and its sports event contracts that flared a month ago.
James sued Kalshi for offering illegal sports betting in the first possible minute following the Second Circuit Court of Appeals denying Kalshi’s request for an injunction pending appeal of its loss in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
“New York’s gambling laws protect children from underage betting and help combat gambling addiction,” James said in a statement at the time. “No matter what they call themselves, prediction markets like Kalshi are gambling platforms, plain and simple. By ignoring our laws, Kalshi is running an illegal operation and harming New Yorkers in the process. We are taking them to court to uphold our laws and protect New Yorkers.”
The prediction markets case comes just less than a year after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill banning sweepstakes casinos in New York. Hochul waited months to sign the legislation but ultimately delivered one of a handful of sweeps bans in US states in 2025.
VGW among many sweeps operators targeted in NY
Escalante’s company stood far from alone in the crosshairs of James. The attorney general issued cease-and-desist orders to 26 sweeps operators last year:
- Chanced
- Chumba
- DingDingDing
- Fliff
- Fortune Coins
- Fortune Wheelz
- Funrize
- FunzCity
- Global Poker
- Golden Hearts Games
- High 5 Casino
- Jackpota
- Luckyland
- McLuck
- Mega Bonanza
- NoLimitCoins
- Play Fame
- RealPrize
- Sidepot
- SpinBlitz
- Sportzino
- SweepSlots
- Sweeptastic
- TaoFortune
- Yay Casino
- Zula Casino
“Following careful consideration, we’ve informed players of a decision to phase out Promotional Play (sweepstakes promotions) in the state of New York,” a VGW spokesperson told SBC Americas at the time. “But we understand this is an adjustment after many years and some players may be disappointed. This decision wasn’t taken lightly and was made at this time in the best interests of all our stakeholders.”
