VGW beats sweepstakes class action lawsuit in federal court
Jerard V. • Last updated on 16 January 2025
The tussle between gaming advocacy groups and casino companies is decades old. The most recent addition to the strife is a class action lawsuit filed by Fair Gaming Advocates Georgia Inc. against VGW Holdings Limited and its subsidiary companies.
The lawsuit was filed on the premise that VGW did not allow for the court’s authority to legally deal with its users. Because of the alleged lack of jurisdiction, VGW had one more class action suit in its arsenal. The company has been dealing with a number of suits since the government made regulations on sweepstakes casinos tighter.
Fair Gaming Advocates Georgia Inc. fights for judge ruling for personal jurisdiction over VGW
For members of the Fair Gaming Advocates’s legal team, hearing the judge’s ruling was a disappointment to what has been a tough battle. To what appears to be a painful loss for the plaintiff, who had earlier lost on the same case at the Superior Court of Fulton County in February 2024, to the defendants, the ruling was one break out of the handful they’ve had to deal with.
According to the plaintiff, VGW offered games that were in direct violation of a Georgia law that prohibits casino gambling. The corporation was on a mission to recover the losses Georgia citizens accrued over a period of four years while playing the games on the VGW online casino.
Currently, online gambling is not legal in Georgia, and the defendant, VGW, was quick to prove that they did not operate any offices in the state.
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit in Against VGW in Federal Court
US District Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. ruled on 13 December 2024 for the dismissal of the class action lawsuit the Georgia advocacy group made against VGW. This ruling was on the grounds that the court does not have the personal jurisdiction over the defendants who are primarily based in Delaware, Malta, and Australia.
According to Judge Thomas, Georgia users accessing the sweepstakes casino gaming website and the company processing their payments falls under limited interaction. The Federal Court finds such limited interaction insufficient to enforce personal jurisdiction over VGW. However, the court granted Fair Gaming Advocates its motion to file for supplementary authority meaning VGW may be back on the stand for the same case in 2025.
VGW Continues to face multiple lawsuit as operations winds down in more states
For the Australia-based sweepstakes company, 2024 was a demanding year. VGW was forced to terminate its Global Poker brand in Nevada. The company made the news public through email to affected customers. Starting from April 15, 2025, Nevada players would not be able to access VGW’s poker games.
At the moment, there are only speculations as to why the company is pulling its operations from Nevada. Whether the discontinuation was due to pressure from Nevada regulators or something more company-related, VGW will halt the operation of its Luckyland Slots and Chumba Casino in the Battle Born State.
Sources:
- “VGW beats sweepstakes class action lawsuit in federal court” https://next.io/news/regulation/vgw-beats-sweepstakes-class-action/. Next.io.December 17, 2024.
- “Court says it lacks jurisdiction to hear VGW sweepstakes suit” https://sbcamericas.com/2024/12/16/vgw-sweeps-class-action-dismissed/. sbcamericans.com. December 16, 2024.
