New York has secured an $8 million settlement from VGW, the company behind Chumba Casino, Global Poker and LuckyLand Slots, over allegations that it unlawfully ran online gambling platforms in the state. The payment covers disgorgement, penalties and costs. The attorney general said the sites let players use virtual coins that could be exchanged for cash or prizes, bringing the operation within New York’s gambling laws.
According to the attorney general’s office, VGW began offering online gambling to New Yorkers through Chumba in 2012, then expanded with Global Poker in 2016 and LuckyLand Slots in 2018. The company tried to sidestep New York’s ban by calling its currency “sweeps coins” and arguing that the coins were free. But the investigation found players could obtain them much like casino chips, receiving about one coin for every dollar spent on the platform, and the office said some New Yorkers lost tens of thousands of dollars.
The settlement follows a June 2025 cease-and-desist letter that stopped VGW from offering virtual coin gambling in New York. It also comes after Governor Kathy Hochul signed the state’s formal ban on sweepstakes casinos into law in December 2025. New York had already taken the view, in a March 2025 letter to operators, that sweepstakes casinos were unlawful because they involved staking something of value on games of chance, even when the operator described the coins as free.
Newsday reported that the agreement allows certain former New York customers to request redemption of eligible sweeps coins. The paper said they will have one year from Aug. 31 to submit claims for coins that were in their accounts as of June 2, 2025.
