Most states are going after prediction markets. Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier has different gambling operators in mind.
In late September, he “Sent letters to Google, Meta, Reddit, Snap, and TikTok after learning they may be advertising illegal “sweepstakes” casinos.” Those companies must confirm in writing by Oct. 23, 2026 that they’ve taken steps to ensure they’re not advertising sweepstakes casinos in Florida, per the letter.
In an X (fka Twitter) post, accompanied by images of the letter, he also directly calls out some of the most popular Florida online casino sites. Stake, Chumba Casino, LuckyLand, and Global Poker, along with “the payment processors that enable them,” were named targets of two lawsuits filed by Uthmeier’s office.
Florida Following a Nationwide Trend
If Florida passes a statewide sweepstakes casino ban, it wouldn’t be the first state to do so.
California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, and Tennessee have all already taken action against the sweepstakes model since 2025. The argument being that these free-to-play, dual-currency models skirt the already existing gambling laws.
However, it is unclear if the lawsuit will eliminate all sweepstakes casinos in Florida, or only the ones named. What is known is that Florida is seeking in the lawsuit “forfeiture of winnings from previous operation in the state,” and “civil penalties of up to $15,000 each for ‘willful violations’ of Florida gambling law.” The suit claims that defendants GVW generated more than $5 billion in 2025 alone.
Advertisers aren’t safe either, whether the ads are intentional or not, and Uthmeier made that abundantly clear in the penultimate paragraph of his letter to Google, which had this to say:
“Florida’s laws and regulations strictly limit the operation and facilitation of gambling within the State. The sites advertised on Google’s social media platforms, including Stake and VGW’s Chumba Casino, LuckyLand, and Global Poker, are not authorized to operate gambling websites or online casinos in Florida. The promotion and advertisement of such illegal gambling in Florida is similarly unlawful under Florida law. Google therefore cannot advertise these illegal ‘sweepstake’ websites on its social media platforms in Florida.”
As it stands, Florida already has had a contentious iGaming history.
In 2018, Amendment 3 prevented any gambling expansion without voter approval. FanDuel and DraftKings fought it, but when the dust settled, Hard Rock Bet was left standing as the exclusive online sportsbook for Floridians.
The state also sent cease-and-desist letters to three daily fantasy sports operators, PrizePicks, Underdog and Betr, in 2023. As AG Uthmeier reminded Google in his letter, you can not operate an online gambling company within Florida’s borders.
This is likely to be a long, significant battle that’s just getting underway. It’ll be interesting to see how the process plays out, and if a successful lawsuit by Florida impacts any other states targeting unwanted gambling operators within their borders, whether it’s a prediction market like Kalshi or a sweepstakes casino like Stake.
