Arkansas sues VGW and Kalshi over illegal gambling claims

Last updated: 5 Nov 2026, 19:54 CET: first published

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed two separate lawsuits on 4 November 2026, one against VGW, the company behind Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Casino, LuckyLand Slots and Global Poker, and one against the prediction market Kalshi. Both suits claim the companies have offered illegal gambling to people in Arkansas, in breach of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. These are the state's allegations, not court findings.

The case against VGW

The complaint was filed in the Circuit Court of White County, Arkansas, against VGW Holdings U.S. Inc. and nine related companies, according to the file-stamped copy on the attorney general's website.

The state's argument turns on VGW's two virtual currencies. In his statement, Griffin says Gold Coins are "effectively worthless", but players buy them with real money and receive Sweeps Coins as a bonus. Sweeps Coins can be played on casino-style games, and winnings in Sweeps Coins can be redeemed for cash. "Any reasonable person would call that gambling," Griffin says. He compares the model to internet sweepstakes cafés, whose similar argument he says courts "repeatedly rejected".

The complaint itself says, in a footnote, that LuckyLand Slots ceased operations in the United States in September 2026, and that before that it did business in Arkansas as described in the complaint.

The case against Kalshi

The second complaint, filed in the Circuit Court of Independence County, Arkansas, names KalshiEX LLC and Kalshi Inc. Griffin says Kalshi lets people "wager money on the outcome of just about anything", including elections, reality shows and football games, and that it opened its platform to Arkansans "including individuals as young as 18 years old" without obtaining state gambling licences, submitting to oversight or paying the taxes lawful operators pay.

He also points to Kalshi's own self-exclusion tools, deposit limits and problem-gambling partnership as signs that it operates like a gambling business. According to Griffin, Kalshi insists its products are not gambling.

What the state is asking for

In both cases, the attorney general says the relief sought includes restitution, penalties, taxes and injunctive relief. Neither release gives an amount or says how restitution would be paid, and neither describes a claims process for players.

What it means for players in Arkansas

• These are allegations. A lawsuit sets out the state's claims; the companies can contest them in court.
• The releases do not ask players to do anything.
• Keep your own records of purchases, balances and redemptions on any of these sites, and check each operator's own terms and notices.

Our reading: the VGW suit is the same type of challenge to the dual-currency sweepstakes model as VGW's US$8m settlement in New York and Oklahoma's new sweepstakes ban, but here it goes through a consumer-protection lawsuit, not a new law. For Kalshi's other state fights, see Utah's criminal charges against Kalshi's founders and the CFTC's lawsuit against Utah.

What is still unclear

• How VGW and Kalshi will respond; the attorney general's releases include no response from either company.
• How much restitution, penalties or taxes the state will seek.

If gambling stops being fun, the National Problem Gambling Helpline, 1-800-MY-RESET, is free and confidential.

Updates

• 5 Nov 2026: first published.