New York AG v. VGW: USD 8M settlement and Sweeps Coin redemption until 2027-08-31: Claim by 31 August 2027, Who Is Covered, Payout Estimate

Under an Assurance of Discontinuance effective August 31, 2026, VGW Holdings Pty. Ltd. and three affiliates agreed to pay New York State USD 8 million and to redeem in cash, for one year, the Sweeps Coins that eligible New York residents held on June 2, 2025. This is an administrative settlement, not a court case.

The defendants agreed without admitting or denying the findings. No part of the USD 8 million goes to players, and requests go to VGW. No payment date applies because there is no fund for players. Filing is free, and GamblingLawsuits.org is not a law firm and not a claims administrator.

What this case is about

This is Assurance of Discontinuance No. 26-052, signed by the Office of the New York Attorney General and VGW, which runs the Chumba Casino, Global Poker and LuckyLand Slots platforms. The defendants agreed "without admitting or denying" the Attorney General's findings.

What the Attorney General found about Sweeps Coins in New York

The Attorney General's Bureau of Internet and Technology found that VGW sold Sweeps Coins at about one coin per dollar to New Yorkers through Chumba Casino, Global Poker and LuckyLand Slots.

In the findings, USD 5 bought 5.05 Sweeps Coins. Chumba Casino has been offered in New York since 2012, Global Poker since 2016 and LuckyLand Slots since 2018.

The findings reference Penal Law article 225 and Executive Law 63(12) as the legal basis for treating redeemable virtual coins as online gambling. This is one of the sweepstakes casino lawsuits we track, but it ended in an agreement rather than a court judgment.

Why this is an administrative settlement, not a court case

An Assurance of Discontinuance is an agreement with the Attorney General under Executive Law 63(15); it carries no court filing, no judge and no class. The defendants are VGW Holdings Pty.

Ltd. (formerly VGW Holdings Ltd.), VGW Luckyland Inc., VGW Malta Limited and VGW GP Limited. Other state matters appear under every gambling lawsuit in New York.

Who is covered

Eligible people are New York residents who held Sweeps Coins in an account on June 2, 2025 and did not receive the 2025 phase-out notice. Nobody else has a redemption right under paragraph 18.

Eligible New York residents and the June 2, 2025 coin balance

Eligibility rests on three facts: New York residence, a Sweeps Coin balance on June 2, 2025, and not having received the phase-out notice. VGW stopped offering Sweeps Coins to New Yorkers on June 2, 2025, and the phase-out deadline was August 1, 2025.

Players who ask whether they are covered can test those three facts with our gambling settlement eligibility checker. The three facts come straight from paragraph 18 of the Assurance.

Who is not covered

Players who received the phase-out notice, who held no Sweeps Coins on June 2, 2025, or who live outside New York are outside the redemption right. The right covers Sweeps Coins only, and cases in other states are separate matters.

Is there a payout?

No cash from the USD 8 million goes to players: the money is paid to New York State, and the only player benefit is a right to cash redemption of Sweeps Coins that eligible New York residents held on June 2, 2025, at the rate in VGW's sweepstakes rules, requested by August 31, 2027 (calculated from paragraph 18, see below).

The USD 8 million: where it goes

VGW was due to pay USD 8,000,000 to New York State within 14 days of August 31, 2026, as disgorgement, restitution, penalties and costs (paragraph 19). No split is published, and payment is not confirmed in the record we hold. The sum is a payment to the State, not a fund for players.

The redemption formula: coins held on June 2, 2025 at the sweepstakes-rules rate

Redemption value (estimated) = Sweeps Coins held in your account on 2025-06-02 x cash rate in VGW's sweepstakes rules at the time of the request (about USD 1 per Sweeps Coin in our record)
Eligible = New York resident, coins held on 2025-06-02, did not receive the 2025 phase-out notice (AOD 26-052 para. 18)
Window = one year after the effective date 2026-08-31, so to 2027-08-31 (derived from para. 18)
No fund for players: the USD 8,000,000 goes to New York State (para. 19)
Not confirmed: the AOD names no request form or administrator; requests go to VGW; other redemption conditions in VGW's rules are not confirmed in the record we hold

The rate is the one in VGW's sweepstakes rules at the time of the request, which our record puts at about USD 1 per Sweeps Coin. The Assurance points to the rules' rate, not a fixed dollar figure, and other conditions in those rules are not confirmed in the record we hold.

Because the estimate has no fund, fee share or claim rate, the usual payout per person arithmetic does not apply here. The estimate is simply your balance times the rate, and it depends on VGW honoring a valid request.

Worked redemption example: 1,000 Sweeps Coins

A resident who held 1,000 Sweeps Coins on June 2, 2025 and did not receive the notice could request an estimated USD 1,000 in cash if the rate is USD 1 per coin. The assumptions are eligibility, a request made in the window and no other conditions in VGW's rules.

Deadlines and how to claim

The redemption window runs for one year after the effective date, which puts its end at August 31, 2027 by our calculation, and requests go to VGW because the Assurance names no form or administrator.

Redemption window to August 31, 2027

Paragraph 18 gives requests one year after the effective date; the date August 31, 2027 is our calculation from that wording, not a date printed in the Assurance. The effective date is August 31, 2026 (paragraph 39).

If VGW or the Attorney General publishes a different end date, the official notice wins and we will correct this page.

How to ask for redemption when no form exists

No official request form has been published, so the steps below follow the Assurance's wording and nothing more.

1. Confirm that you meet the three eligibility facts.
2. Find your June 2, 2025 balance in your own records, such as account history screenshots or email receipts.
3. Send VGW a written redemption request through its customer support route and keep a copy; the Assurance as we read it names no channel.
4. Note the date, since the window ends August 31, 2027 by our calculation.

Because no official form exists, impostors can invent one. Never pay anyone to redeem coins, and read our guide on how to spot fake settlement and claim sites before you open any link claiming to be a VGW settlement portal. We never host a request form.

Timeline

The settlement closes a sequence that began with a letter in April 2025.

The letter date differs by source: the Assurance's findings give April 25, 2025, while the Attorney General's press release of September 9, 2026 describes a June 2025 cease-and-desist. We show both and do not choose between them.

What the court has decided so far

No court has decided anything here: the Assurance was signed without a court filing, and the Attorney General's findings are not a judgment. The defendants agreed "without admitting or denying" them. In our record of November 14, 2026, it is the largest state recovery from a sweepstakes operator so far.

Documents and sources

Every date and figure comes from the Assurance itself, the Attorney General's press release and the secondary reports listed here.

• Assurance of Discontinuance No. 26-052 (ag.ny.gov, primary, effective 2026-08-31)
• Attorney General press release (ag.ny.gov, primary, 2026-09-09)
• openclassactions.com news item (secondary, supporting)
• sweepsy.com report (secondary, supporting)
• Our sweepstakes casino bans by state tracker (internal)

Related cases

Related cases show what other states and players have done about VGW and what paid before.

Other VGW and Chumba Casino cases

VGW appears in many suits in our record, and every case against it is listed under VGW lawsuits. The 2023 Kentucky Armstead settlement is the only completed cash settlement by VGW in the United States.

• Kentucky AG v. VGW (Chumba Casino): state suit filed June 17, 2026, without a prior cease-and-desist
• Arkansas AG v. VGW: state suit filed November 4, 2026
• Florida AG v. VGW and payment processors: state suit filed August 19, 2026
• Chumba Casino / Apple / Google New York RICO suit: player suit in the Southern District of New York, filed December 3, 2024

Other gambling settlements with claims open

Other gambling settlements have claims open in November 2026.

• Pulsz six-state settlement: claims open to November 30, 2026
• High 5 Games Washington verdict: claims due January 4, 2027

Every deadline we track is sorted in open gambling class action settlements by deadline.

Questions people ask

Is the VGW New York settlement real?

Yes: the Attorney General announced it on September 9, 2026, and the Assurance is on the Attorney General's site. Check the sender of any message about it and never click payment links, as our guide on how to spot fake settlement and claim sites explains.

Do I get part of the USD 8 million?

No; the USD 8 million is paid to New York State, not to players. The only player benefit is the redemption right for Sweeps Coins held on June 2, 2025.

What is the Sweeps Coin redemption deadline?

Our calculation from paragraph 18 gives August 31, 2027. The Assurance itself says one year after the effective date of August 31, 2026.

Do I have to file a claim form?

None has been published, and the Assurance names no administrator; requests go to VGW. We do not host a form.

Is there a payout date?

No payout date exists because there is no player fund. The timing of redemption is not in the record, and our guide on how long gambling lawsuits and settlements take shows what other settlements measured.

Is this the same as the Kentucky Chumba settlement?

No; the 2023 Kentucky Armstead settlement paid USD 11.75 million pro rata on documented losses and its deadline passed in 2023. The details are on the Chumba Casino / LuckyLand Slots Kentucky settlement page.

Can I still play Chumba Casino in New York?

The record says VGW stopped offering Sweeps Coins to New Yorkers on June 2, 2025. State legality sits on our tracker of sweepstakes casino bans by state.

GamblingLawsuits.org is a non-commercial project. It takes no money from operators, affiliates or law firms. Filing a settlement claim is always free. We are not a law firm and not a settlement administrator. Last checked: November 14, 2026. Next checks: weekly while the window is open.