Penalty Amount
$8,000,000
New York Attorney General Letitia James secured an $8 million settlement from VGW Holdings Pty. Ltd. and its affiliates for unlawfully operating online sweepstakes casinos — Chumba Casino, Global Poker, and Luckyland Slots — that allowed New Yorkers to play casino games with virtual coins exchangeable for cash or prizes. The OAG's June 2025 cease and desist letter stopped the company from offering virtual coin gambling in New York, and Governor Hochul signed a formal ban on sweepstakes casinos into law in December 2025. Under the settlement, VGW will pay $8 million in disgorgement, penalties, and costs; note this is an illegal-gambling enforcement action rather than a privacy matter, so no privacy violation taxonomy categories apply.
VGW will pay $8 million in disgorgement, penalties, and costs to New York. The company had already ended the sale of sweepstakes coins in New York following the OAG's June 2025 cease and desist letter.
This is an illegal-gambling enforcement action rather than a privacy matter, so the priority review is gaming and sweepstakes compliance language rather than data-protection clauses. In-house teams whose companies operate, sponsor, or partner with sweepstakes promotions, social casinos, or virtual-currency programs should review vendor, platform, affiliate, and marketing agreements for representations and warranties that offerings comply with state gambling laws — including New York's 2025 ban on sweepstakes casinos — and confirm whether any 'virtual coins' or rewards described as 'free' are in fact redeemable for cash or prizes and therefore constitute regulated gambling. Check payment-processing and app-store agreements for gambling-related restrictions, and verify that indemnification, regulatory-penalty, and termination clauses allocate exposure for enforcement actions, disgorgement, and cease-and-desist letters. Privacy teams should also confirm that consumer data collected through these gaming platforms is covered by the underlying data processing agreements, since gambling enforcement often triggers parallel scrutiny of consumer data practices.
Entity
VGW Holdings Pty. Ltd.
Industry
GamingOfficial Press Release
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2026/attorney-general-james-secures-8-million-leading-operator-illegal-online
vgw holdings pty ltd aod 2026
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/settlements-agreements/vgw-holdings-pty-ltd-aod-2026.pdf
New York Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://ag.ny.gov/press-releases
"secured $8 million from VGW Holdings Pty. Ltd. and its affiliates (VGW), one of the largest operators of so-called “sweepstakes casinos,” for unlawfully running online gambling platforms in New York"
"As a result of OAG’s investigation, VGW will pay $8 million in disgorgement, penalties, and costs."
"September 9, 2026"
"Under the settlement announced today, VGW will pay $8 million, including penalties."
"New York law prohibits online platforms from offering gambling that involves risking something of value, including redeemable virtual coins."
"VGW’s online casinos – Chumba Casino, Global Poker, and Luckyland Slots – allowed users to play traditional casino games using virtual coins that could be exchanged for cash or prizes."
$240K
The New York Attorney General investigated a group of debt buyers for filing foreclosure actions seeking payment of long-expired mortgage debts. The companies agreed to pay $240,000 in penalties and more than $242,000 in consumer restitution, stop seeking payment of time-barred debts, and amend claims in pending foreclosure cases.
$240K
New York Attorney General Letitia James reached an agreement with debt buyers that allegedly filed foreclosure lawsuits seeking payment on expired mortgage debt. The companies must pay $240,000 in penalties and more than $242,000 in restitution, and stop seeking expired payments in ongoing and future cases.
$6.0M
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$98K
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$2.6M
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