The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission (MLGCC) has officially run out of patience with Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW). On November 18, the regulator sent a second cease-and-desist notice to Chumba Casino and LuckyLand Slots, giving the Australian operator just ten days to stop offering sweepstakes and casino-style play in the state.
This time, Maryland didn’t bother softening the language: “These offerings contain the elements of gaming: consideration, chance, and prize… in other words, it is gaming.”
Round Two, and Maryland’s Not Bluffing
This isn’t VGW’s first warning. The MLGCC already issued similar letters back in March, giving the same ten-day deadline and hinting that failure to comply could affect any future license applications. Eight months later, Maryland’s tone has hardened from polite notice to firm order.
From Maryland’s point of view, the issue is pretty simple. State law only allows two forms of legal online gambling: sports betting and fantasy contests.
Dual-currency sweepstakes where players use Gold Coins to play and Sweeps Coins for prizes, don’t fit either box. In the eyes of the regulator, that doesn’t make them clever or innovative. It makes them unlicensed online casinos.
VGW Is in Retreat
The new order adds another entry to a growing list of VGW retreats in 2025.
The operator, which also runs Global Poker, has already exited or shifted to free-play in more than a dozen states, including Connecticut, Montana, New Jersey, and New York, all of which have recently banned or challenged sweepstakes casinos.
This month, VGW confirmed it will end Sweeps Coins play in Tennessee and move to Gold Coins only in West Virginia.
A company representative revealed that the decision followed “careful consideration,” acknowledging that “some players may be disappointed” but calling it a necessary adjustment.
For a company that once championed sweepstakes as a legally “innovative marketing model,” the trend now looks less like expansion and more like hanging on.
Maryland Isn’t Just Looking at VGW
VGW isn’t the only one feeling the pressure. The MLGCC has also targeted prediction-market platforms like Kalshi, Crypto.com, and Robinhood, accusing them of facilitating unlicensed “sports event contracts.”
In a notice to all licensees, the regulator warned that engaging in such activity, even outside Maryland, could affect operators’ standing within the state.
It’s a noticeable change in approach. Maryland isn’t sitting around waiting for new bills to pass. It’s leaning on the powers it already has and using them to shut down gray-market activity now, not later.
A Pattern, Not an Outlier
For sweepstakes casinos, Maryland’s stance is part of a growing pattern. States including California, New Jersey, Connecticut, Montana, Michigan, and Delaware have already banned or moved against the model. Others like Ohio, Minnesota, and Nevada are considering it.
In each case, the logic is the same: if it looks, plays, and pays like gambling, it’s gambling. And if it’s gambling, it needs a license.
What Happens Next
VGW has three options, and none of them are great.
- It can comply and back out of Maryland quietly, keeping the door open in case it ever wants to come back under a different model.
- It can try to fight the order in court, but so far, lawsuits against regulators in this space haven’t had much success.
- Or it can lobby for new legislation next year. Its a long shot that won’t help its short-term business.
If it walks away, Maryland joins a growing list of states where VGW has either shut down or gone “free-play only.”
That means less access for players, less revenue for affiliates, and more proof that the dual-currency model’s shelf life is expiring.
The Bigger Signal
Maryland’s second order isn’t just about VGW, it’s a signal to the whole sweepstakes industry. Regulators aren’t waiting for consensus anymore. They’re acting on their own definitions of gambling and enforcing them with deadlines, not debates.
And this time, they’re not messing around. They’re doing it in writing, with the countdown already ticking.
Blaise Luis
