Summary:
- Florida AG James Uthmeier sent letters to five major tech companies over advertising for sweepstakes casino platforms.
- The crackdown targets ads promoting sites such as Stake and Global Poker, which Florida alleges violate state gambling laws.
- The companies have been given an October 23 deadline to stop running the targeted advertisements.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has decided to expand the state’s ongoing crackdown on sweepstakes casinos by targeting the companies that help promote them online.
Big Companies Asked to Stop
Uthmeier has sent letters to five major technology platforms, including Google, Meta, Reddit, Snap and TikTok, demanding that they stop carrying advertisements for sweepstakes casino sites targeting Florida residents. The companies have until October 23 to comply.
The move follows lawsuits filed by Uthmeier’s office in August against Stake and VGW, whose brands include Chumba Casino, LuckyLand and Global Poker.
Those cases also named payment processors that allegedly facilitate transactions for the platforms.
According to the attorney general’s office, the sweepstakes sites use a dual-currency model. Players can purchase packages containing virtual “Gold Coins” along with promotional currencies such as Stake Cash or Sweeps Coins.
The latter can potentially be redeemed for prizes with real-world value.
Uthmeier’s letters argue that the platforms are not authorized to operate gambling websites or online casinos in Florida and that advertising them in the state is also unlawful.
The attorney general has indicated that his office intends to pursue not only operators but companies that facilitate their activities.
The latest action puts the advertising infrastructure behind sweepstakes casinos under scrutiny. Rather than focusing only on the gambling platforms themselves, Florida is asking major technology companies to prevent residents from seeing and accessing advertisements for them.
Differences Between Sweepstake Casinos and Traditional Online Platforms
Sweepstakes casinos differ from traditional online casinos mainly in the way they structure their currencies. Instead of directly wagering cash, as previously mentioned, players typically receive or purchase packages containing a virtual currency such as Gold Coins, along with promotional credits such as Sweeps Coins or Stake Cash.
Those promotional credits can be used to play casino-style games and, under the operators’ rules, may be redeemed for prizes with real-world value.
That model has allowed sweepstakes operators to argue that their platforms are promotional games rather than traditional gambling sites. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier disputes that distinction.
The operators’ legal position and the state’s allegations will ultimately be tested through the court cases.
Florida does have a statute regulating legitimate game promotions and sweepstakes. Promotions with more than $5,000 in total announced prizes can trigger registration and prize-security requirements, while the law also requires that participation cannot be conditioned on payment or proof of purchase.
State regulators specifically warn that complying with the promotional-game rules does not automatically authorize an activity that violates another Florida gambling law.
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