New York players of VGW’s Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots and Global Poker who never received the company’s 2025 cash-out notice were covered by a September 2026 agreement with the New York Attorney General requiring VGW to redeem their leftover sweeps coins. Requests can be made until August 31, 2027; the $8 million VGW agreed to pay goes to the state, not to players.
What Is This About?
VGW Holdings Pty. Ltd. and three affiliates, VGW Malta Limited, VGW Luckyland Inc. and VGW GP Limited, signed an Assurance of Discontinuance with the New York Attorney General, No. 26-052, which took effect August 31, 2026. The Attorney General announced it on September 9, 2026. The affiliates run Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots and Global Poker, respectively.The agreement does two things that matter to players. VGW pays $8 million to the State of New York, and for one year VGW must let certain New Yorkers redeem the sweeps coins left in their accounts when the company stopped offering them in the state. The second part is the only piece that puts money in players’ hands, and it works through VGW itself rather than through a claims administrator or a court.
VGW neither admitted nor denied the Attorney General’s findings, and the agreement states that it is not an admission of liability.
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Who Can Ask VGW to Redeem Sweeps Coins?
The redemption provision, paragraph 18 of the agreement, covers New York consumers, meaning anyone residing in New York, who did not receive VGW’s earlier notice about the phase-out. According to the agreement, VGW stopped offering sweeps coins to New York residents on June 2, 2025, and says it notified its New York customers beforehand that they had until August 1, 2025 to redeem any remaining coins.A New Yorker who missed that notice can submit a request covering the sweeps coins that were in their account with any of the three platforms as of June 2, 2025. For each valid request, VGW must redeem the coins that were eligible for redemption on that date and pay cash at the exchange rate and on the terms set by VGW’s sweepstakes rules then in effect. Gold coins, which could never be redeemed, are not covered.
New Yorkers who did receive the 2025 notice are not covered by this provision. Whether VGW honors their requests anyway is up to the company.
How Long the Window Lasts
The agreement’s effective date is August 31, 2026, and the redemption obligation lasts for one year following that date, which places the end of the window at August 31, 2027. Some coverage of the settlement described August 31, 2026 as a deadline. In the agreement itself, that date is when the obligations began, not when they ended.How Requests Are Submitted
The agreement requires VGW to “enable” New York consumers to submit a redemption request, but it does not name a form, web page or other process for doing so. Neither the Attorney General’s announcement nor the agreement points players to a request page, and no published request form had been located as of October 10, 2026. VGW is the party responsible for carrying out paragraph 18.New Yorkers who believe a gambling platform is not complying with state law can report it to the Attorney General through the office’s online complaint form or to the New York State Gaming Commission, the two routes the Attorney General’s announcement lists.
Where the $8 Million Goes
Paragraph 19 requires VGW to pay $8 million to the State of New York in disgorgement, restitution, penalties and costs, in full within 14 days of the effective date. The agreement does not divide that sum among those categories, does not create a fund for players and does not appoint a settlement administrator. A player looking for a share of the $8 million will not find a claim process for it.What the Attorney General Found
The Attorney General’s findings describe how the platforms worked. Players received two kinds of virtual coins, gold coins and sweeps coins, and only sweeps coins could be redeemed for cash or gift cards. VGW sold gold coin packages that included sweeps coins described as free, and the number of sweeps coins in most packages roughly matched the dollar price. A player paying $5, for example, received 5.05 sweeps coins and 1,000,000 gold coins. A free route existed through a mailed, handwritten request that had to meet detailed formatting rules.Chumba Casino first became available in New York in 2012, Global Poker in 2016 and LuckyLand Slots in 2018. The Attorney General warned VGW in an April 25, 2025 letter that most sweepstakes casinos are illegal in New York, and in June 2025 announced that VGW and 25 other operators were ending sweeps coin sales in the state. In December 2025, Governor Hochul signed a law expressly banning the dual-coin model in New York.
The Attorney General found that the conduct violated New York’s Penal Law provisions on promoting gambling and possessing gambling records, and Executive Law § 63(12). VGW agreed not to make public statements denying those findings while keeping its right to take positions in litigation that does not involve the Attorney General.
Other VGW Cases
The New York agreement is not a class action settlement and resolves only the Attorney General’s investigation. It states that nothing in it takes away any person’s private rights under the law.VGW previously settled a Kentucky class action, Armstead v. VGW Malta Ltd., for $11.75 million. That settlement received final approval in January 2023, and its claim deadline passed in March 2023. VGW also faces a lawsuit filed in June 2026 by the Kentucky Attorney General and private suits in several states alleging that its platforms are illegal gambling, none of which had produced a court-approved settlement with an open claim process as of October 10, 2026. Those allegations remain unproven.
Questions
Does any of VGW's $8 million go to Chumba, LuckyLand or Global Poker players?
Not directly. The agreement requires VGW to pay the full $8 million to the State of New York in disgorgement, restitution, penalties and costs, and it does not set up a fund, a claim form or an administrator for players. The player benefit is separate: VGW must honor redemption requests for sweeps coins from eligible New Yorkers.
Did the August 31, 2026 deadline for VGW redemptions already pass?
No. August 31, 2026 is the agreement’s effective date, not a deadline. The redemption obligation runs for one year following that date, which places the end of the window at August 31, 2027. The earlier August 1, 2025 date was the cash-out deadline in VGW’s own 2025 notice to New York customers.
Can New Yorkers who got VGW's 2025 cash-out notice still redeem coins?
The agreement does not require it. Paragraph 18 covers only New York consumers who did not receive VGW’s earlier notice of the phase-out and its August 1, 2025 redemption deadline. Whether VGW honors other requests is up to the company.
Is the VGW New York agreement a class action settlement?
No. It is an Assurance of Discontinuance between VGW and the New York Attorney General, resolving a state investigation without a lawsuit. There is no court approval process, class notice or settlement administrator. Paragraph 25 says the agreement does not take away any person’s private rights under the law, and private class actions against VGW in other states are separate matters.
Did VGW admit breaking New York law?
No. VGW neither admitted nor denied the Attorney General’s findings, and the agreement says it is not an admission of liability. The Attorney General found that the platforms violated New York’s gambling laws and Executive Law § 63(12). VGW also agreed not to make public statements denying those findings.
Sources
- Assurance of Discontinuance No. 26-052 — the agreement between VGW and the New York Attorney General, effective August 31, 2026
- New York Attorney General announcement — September 9, 2026
- New York Attorney General cease-and-desist announcement — June 6, 2025, listing the 26 platforms
- Kentucky Attorney General complaint against VGW — June 2026
