Arkansas AG sues VGW over online casino games offering cash prizes

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed a lawsuit against VGW, alleging that the online gaming platform provides illegal gambling in Arkansas while claiming it does not operate a gambling business. In an official statement, Griffin said VGW features games including Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Casino, LuckyLand Slots and Global Poker, and sued the company under the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

The case puts VGW's dual-currency model before the court. Griffin argues that separating the currency consumers purchase from the currency used to win cash does not take the activity outside Arkansas gambling laws. The requested relief includes restitution for consumers, penalties, taxes and injunctive relief. The claims are allegations in a lawsuit, not a final finding that VGW violated Arkansas law.

The two-currency model

According to Griffin, consumers purchase “Gold Coins” with real money. VGW then provides “Sweeps Coins” as a bonus. The Sweeps Coins can be used in online casino-style games, and users can redeem Sweeps Coins won through those games for actual cash.

Griffin described Gold Coins as “effectively worthless” and said: “Any reasonable person would call that gambling.” He said companies providing Arkansans with a means to gamble money are subject to the state's gambling rules, regardless of how the virtual currencies are labelled.

The attorney general compared the arrangement with internet sweepstakes cafes that sold internet time, issued supposedly free credits and allowed customers to use those credits to play for cash prizes. Griffin said courts repeatedly rejected those businesses' argument that customers were paying only for internet access rather than gambling.

Arkansas joins recent action against online platforms

The lawsuit follows New York Attorney General Letitia James's announcement of an $8m settlement with VGW on 9 September over online gambling platforms using redeemable virtual coins.

Griffin also filed a separate Arkansas lawsuit against KalshiEX LLC and Kalshi Inc., alleging that their prediction-market platform operated as an illegal gambling platform. That case likewise seeks restitution, penalties, taxes and injunctive relief under the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Both cases remain allegations, with Griffin's VGW suit seeking court-ordered relief over the company's currency structure and cash-redemption model.