Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has initiated legal action against numerous prominent sweepstakes casino providers, including Stake, Chumba Casino, LuckyLand, and Global Poker, in a bid to terminate their activities and retrieve money that consumers purportedly lost.
The lawsuits were lodged in Hillsborough County, and touch on the operators’ use of a dual currency business model. The lawsuits state that the clients pay for bundles of virtual “Gold Coins,” which also come with “Sweep Coins” and allow them to play different types of casino games, such as poker, blackjack, and slot machines.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said:
If it looks like a casino, takes real money like a casino, and pays out like a casino, it is a casino, and it is illegal under Florida law.
The states argue that marketing these services as being sweepstakes does not exonerate them from the provisions of Florida gambling laws.
Moreover, Florida wants New York courts to impose permanent injunctions against these companies and repay consumers who might have lost their money while using such services. Furthermore, the state accuses the operators of violating Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and if the charges are proven, the operators may be forced to pay fines to the government and reimburse consumers.
Florida’s lawsuit follows similar lawsuits that have been lodged in multiple other US states, including California, New York, Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Louisiana, and Tennessee taking legislative or enforcement action.
In Indiana, several major operators, including Chumba Casino, Stake.us, McLuck, WOW Vegas, LuckyLand Slots and Global Poker, suspended or ended operations after House Bill 1052 took effect.