Arkansas sues VGW, citing about $66 million in taxable state sales by Global Poker’s parent

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin sued VGW on Nov. 4, alleging that Chumba Casino, LuckyLand and Global Poker run illegal gambling, and the complaint says the company reported about $66 million in taxable Arkansas sales in 12 months. Arkansas joins Kentucky, Florida and New York in moving against the dual-currency model behind sweepstakes poker since June 2026.

• Arkansas filed its civil suit against VGW in White County Circuit Court on Nov. 4, 2026, alleging illegal gambling and violations of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
• The complaint says VGW reported about $66 million in taxable Arkansas sales from July 2025 to June 2026 and paid about $6 million in sales and use tax over that period.
• New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Sept. 9, 2026, that VGW Holdings and its affiliates would pay $8 million, including penalties, over Chumba Casino, Global Poker and LuckyLand Slots.
• Arkansas sued prediction market operator Kalshi the same day, in Independence County Circuit Court.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed a civil lawsuit on Nov. 4 against VGW, the company behind Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Casino, LuckyLand Slots and the sweepstakes poker site Global Poker. The suit, filed in White County Circuit Court, alleges that VGW’s Gold Coin and Sweeps Coin model is illegal gambling and violates the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. It also puts a dollar figure on the company’s business in the state. VGW reported about $66 million in taxable Arkansas sales from July 2025 to June 2026 and paid about $6 million in sales and use tax over that period, according to the complaint.

The same filing says VGW holds no Arkansas casino license. Put the two claims side by side and the state’s position is plain: a company with tens of millions of dollars in reported Arkansas sales has offered casino-style play there without a license. Griffin’s office said the state wants restitution, penalties, taxes and injunctive relief.

About $66 million in Arkansas sales, and no casino license

The tax figures cut two ways. VGW did report sales to the state and paid sales and use tax on them. Arkansas is nonetheless asking for taxes as part of its relief, alongside penalties and restitution. The complaint names ten affiliated VGW companies and, besides the deceptive-practices counts, alleges unjust enrichment.

One platform is already gone. LuckyLand Slots, which had served customers in Arkansas, ended its U.S. operations in September 2026, a footnote in the complaint notes. Global Poker and Chumba Casino are named alongside it.

Griffin targets the Gold Coin and Sweeps Coin split

The heart of the case is the dual-currency structure that sweepstakes poker and casino sites rely on to stay outside gambling law. As Griffin described it, Gold Coins are bought with real money but are effectively worthless, buyers receive Sweeps Coins as a bonus, and Sweeps Coins won in casino-style games can be cashed out, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

That separation is the legal shield. VGW’s argument is that the coin players buy and the coin they redeem are legally distinct. Griffin’s office said courts have repeatedly rejected that argument. With Global Poker among the four platforms listed in the suit, the poker product sits inside that dispute as much as the casino brands do.

Global Poker named in Kentucky, Florida and New York actions

Arkansas is not acting alone. Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman’s complaint against VGW, covering Chumba Casino, Global Poker and LuckyLand Slots, is dated June 17, 2026, and was filed in Franklin Circuit Court. It asks for civil penalties and permanent injunctions against the defendants. VGW said in response that it rejected the claims and would defend itself vigorously, SBC Americas reported.

Florida followed on Aug. 19, 2026. Attorney General James Uthmeier sued VGW and Stake, along with payment processors, in Hillsborough County Circuit Court in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, under Florida gambling law and the state’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. That complaint argues the sweepstakes casinos cost Florida licensing and tax revenue, a revenue argument that Arkansas now backs with a specific sales figure.

New York produced money. On Sept. 9, 2026, Attorney General Letitia James announced that VGW Holdings and its affiliates would pay $8 million, including penalties, over Chumba Casino, Global Poker and LuckyLand Slots. Her office said VGW stopped selling sweeps coins in New York after receiving a cease-and-desist letter. New York’s ban on sweepstakes casinos had already been signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul in December 2025.

The pattern matters for players in states without regulated online poker. Global Poker has been named in every one of these four state actions, from Kentucky’s June complaint through the Arkansas filing. Each state has picked a different route, from a settlement with a sales halt in New York to injunction requests in Kentucky and a restitution and tax claim in Arkansas.

Kalshi suit filed the same day in Independence County

Griffin did not stop at VGW. On the same day, Arkansas sued prediction market operator Kalshi in Independence County Circuit Court, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. That suit alleges Kalshi let Arkansans as young as 18 bet real money on sports and entertainment events without obtaining a state license or paying required taxes, Gaming Intelligence reported.

The two cases rest on different products but share a premise. In both, Arkansas argues that an unlicensed operator took real-money action from state residents and owes taxes it did not pay as a licensed gambling business. Two filings, two counties, one day.

VGW’s earlier public stance came in Kentucky, where it said it would fight the claims. In Arkansas, the company had not answered the Arkansas Advocate’s emailed request for comment on the day the suit was filed.

Image: screenshot of arkansasag.gov