Florida Atty. Gen. James Uthmeier sent letters to Google, Meta, Reddit, Snap and TikTok on Friday, claiming the companies may be illegally advertising sweepstakes casinos such as Chumba Casino, LuckyLand, Global Poker and Stake to Florida residents.
This follows complaints Uthmeier filed last month against those operators and their payment processors.
Uthmeier gave “Big Tech” a deadline to respond, and shared the letter he sent to Halimah DeLaine Prado, Google’s general counsel.
“Please confirm to me in writing by October 23, 2026, the steps Google has taken to ensure that it is not promoting or otherwise advertising these online ‘sweepstakes’ casinos, including Stake, VGW’s Chumba Casino, LuckLand, and Global Poker, to residents of Florida through its social media platforms,” Uthmeier wrote.
Building on August complaints
The two complaints filed last month, one against VGW and the other against Stake, seek permanent injunctions, forfeiture and recovery of money lost by Florida consumers, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil penalties, restitution and attorneys’ fees.
After the first step of notifying the companies and their payment suppliers, Uthmeier is now working his way down the supply chain to advertisers.
“The promotion and advertisement of such illegal gambling in Florida is similarly unlawful under Florida law,” Uthmeier wrote in Friday’s letter. “Google therefore cannot advertise these illegal ‘sweepstake’ websites on its social media platforms in Florida.”
Uthmeier said his office will pursue “both those who operate and those who facilitate these criminal operations,” a signal that other platforms could face the same scrutiny as the payment processors named in the August suits.
Google’s gambling advertising policy
Google allows social casinos to advertise, describing them as “online simulated gambling-style games where there is no opportunity to win something of value.” But the company updated its gambling and games policy in October 2025 to state that sweepstakes casinos do not fall under that category.
That means sweepstakes operators would need Google’s real-money gambling certification to advertise in the U.S. That certification requires a state license and limits ads to states where the operator is licensed. Florida does not license online casinos.
Uthmeier wrote that the platforms use a dual-currency model. It bundles “Gold Coins” with “Stake Cash” or “Sweeps Coins,” that is designed to disguise real-money gambling.
“The latter [Stake Cash and Sweeps Coins] functions as redeemable wagering credits that can be cashed out for cryptocurrency, gift cards, or cash after minimal play-through requirements,” Uthmeier wrote.
The operators, he wrote, market themselves as “free, safe, legal ‘social’ entertainment.”
