Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has sued sweepstakes casino operator VGW and prediction market Kalshi on the same day, alleging illegal gambling under state law. The VGW complaint puts a dollar figure on the state’s sweepstakes market and adds Arkansas to a growing list of states challenging the dual-currency model.
Arkansas has opened a two-front legal fight against online gambling it says is unlicensed. One lawsuit targets VGW, the company behind Chumba Casino, LuckyLand and Global Poker. The other targets KalshiEX LLC and Kalshi Inc., the companies that own the Kalshi prediction market.
Both cases allege illegal gambling and violations of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Both also include an unjust enrichment claim. In each case the state seeks restitution, penalties, taxes and injunctive relief.
VGW complaint puts a dollar figure on Arkansas sweepstakes play
The VGW suit attacks the Gold Coin/Sweeps Coin model that almost every US sweepstakes casino relies on. It names ten affiliated VGW companies. Over the twelve months to June 2026, VGW also paid about $6 million in Arkansas sales and use tax, Gaming.net reported.
Those figures show a company declaring sales to the state and paying tax on them. Yet VGW holds no Arkansas casino license, the state alleges. The complaint also accuses VGW of letting 18-year-olds play, even though Arkansas casinos require players to be 21.
The case lands less than two months after the New York settlement. New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that deal on September 9, 2026. It covered Chumba Casino, Global Poker and Luckyland Slots. VGW’s coin-based games were already off the table for New Yorkers by then, after her office sent the company a cease-and-desist letter in June 2025.
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman went to court a few months earlier, claiming VGW’s sweepstakes casinos break Kentucky gambling law. Florida has also moved against dual-currency sweepstakes since June 2026. Arkansas now joins Kentucky, Florida and New York on that list. For operators using the same coin structure, the pattern points to rising legal exposure state by state.
Kalshi suit treats sports contracts as unlicensed casino gaming
The Kalshi complaint rests on a constitutional definition. The Arkansas Constitution’s definition of casino gaming expressly covers accepting wagers on sporting events. Kalshi has never held a casino-gaming license from the state commission, the state alleges. Nor has it held any other Arkansas authorization to take sports wagers.
The complaint expressly limits itself to state-law claims and relief under Arkansas law. That choice means the state is relying on its own consumer-protection statute rather than waiting on the CFTC. Money lost, betting that gets out of hand, and depression or other damage to mental health are dangers Kalshi understands its customers face, Griffin’s office said.
Filing both cases on the same day signals how Arkansas views the two products. The attorney general is treating sweepstakes casinos and sports event contracts as the same kind of unlicensed gambling. Other states may weigh whether to copy that approach.
The VGW case was filed in White County Circuit Court. The Kalshi case was filed in Independence County Circuit Court.
Sources
- Attorney General Griffin Sues Prediction Market Kalshi for Providing Illegal Gambling Platform in Arkansas (Arkansas Attorney General)
- Arkansas Attorney General Files Two Unlicensed Gambling Lawsuits (Gaming.net)
- Attorney General James Secures $8 Million from Leading Operator of Illegal Online Sweepstakes Casinos (New York State Attorney General)
- Commonwealth of Kentucky Franklin Circuit Court complaint against VGW (Kentucky Office of the Attorney General)
The post Arkansas sues VGW and Kalshi, citing $66 million in VGW taxable sales in one year appeared first on ReadWrite.
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This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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