VGW Scores Legal Mini-Win in Georgia But the War’s Not Over Yet

Daniel Wallach, a US gaming law and sports betting attorney, announced that VGW, one of the leading sweepstakes operators in America, has scored a legal mini-win in Georgia.

A Small Win for VGW

Citing an order published on October 15, Wallach pointed out that the operator has succeeded in keeping its gambling loss lawsuit in Georgia federal court.

This development represents a small win for the company and follows a judge order in Tennessee that sought to remand sweepstakes lawsuits back to state court. The nine lawsuits in question came from individuals who sued sweepstakes operators in an attempt to recover gambling losses. The suits also involve operators such as DoubleDown, Playtika, Playstudios, Sciplay and SpinX.

The plaintiffs behind the ongoing lawsuits alleged that the offers of sweepstakes operators, constituted illegal gambling, therefore implying that the companies unlawfully took their money.

Wallach noted that the gambling loss lawsuit in Georgia will remain in federal court. However, he noted that this is only a “mini-win” since the sweepstakes company will now be stuck with a judge who isn’t all too favorable of sweepstakes operators.

Despite mini-win, VGW now stuck with judge who describes its sweepstakes games as “virtual gambling” and “online casino games.”

Daniel Wallach

Wallach previously described the lawsuits as a “case to watch.”

Sweepstakes Sector Under Scrutiny

Sweepstakes operators have been under fire in recent months amid a pushback against the sweepstakes market. Sweepstakes games have long existed in a gray area as they are not technically classified as gambling. However, the similarities of such products to gambling have attracted the attention of regulatory bodies and industry leaders which have demanded governments to take action.

As one of the biggest sweepstakes companies, VGW was among the first companies to attract regulators’ ire. As a result, it was forced to exit several key US markets, such as Connecticut.

As the regulatory pressure ramped up, sweepstakes companies joined forces to form the Social and Promotional Gaming Association (SPGA), a body that will promote the industry’s interests. The body, according to the official announcement, is “dedicated to providing stakeholder education and advocating for the responsible operation of social and promotional games, sometimes referred to as social sweepstakes games.”

The initial SPGA lineup consisted of 11 members.