The city of Los Angeles has sued Stake.us and several of its major suppliers, alleging the operation is an illegal gambling business.
Filed in California Superior Court, the civil enforcement action targeted the global crypto casino’s US sweepstakes casino subsidiary, asking the court to order it to stop operations and return all player losses.
The case marks the latest legal wrinkle for Stake.us and the controversial sweepstakes casino industry, which is currently facing a total ban working its way through the Golden State’s Senate.
LA’s lawyers wrote: “By masking its real money gambling platform as “America’s Social Casino,” Stake.us and Defendants create a predatory, dangerous gambling environment.
“This deliberately misleading environment draws in Californians across demographics, exposes them to substantial risks of gambling addiction, jeopardizes their and their families’ financial and mental health, and otherwise presents the type of hazards that California’s anti-gambling laws are intended to prevent.”
Alongside Stake.us, its founders and EasyGo holding company, the lawsuit also names several major iGaming suppliers as being “accomplices” to the operation.
These include live casino giant Evolution, content supplier Pragmatic Play and slots provider Hacksaw Gaming.
The targeting of sweepstakes casino suppliers is a tactic that has also been seen in several proposed legislative bans, including the Californian bill AB 831.
The @CityAttorneyLA is co-counseling with the same private law firm — Susman Godfrey LLP — which filed a nationwide class action last week against VGW, Laurence Escalante, Brian Christopher, and VGW’s California-based vendors. In other words, VGW may be next on deck. https://t.co/i8ApIrB6bf
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) August 29, 2025
A Stake spokesperson told NEXT.io: “We have not been served at this time. However, we reject allegations that have been made in the media in relation to this potential claim and will vigorously defend this and all such claims.”
Lawsuit says Stake.us actually online casino
Highlighting Stake.us’ design, the lawsuit argued that it modelled itself on an online casino through its visual style and offers more than 1,900 casino games, including slots, table games, live dealer games, scratch cards, and exclusives.
It also pointed to the site’s dual currency structure, which is common in all sweepstakes casino operations, in which players receive free Sweepstakes Coins after purchasing Gold Coins, the former being able to be redeemed for real money.
The case is not the first legal action Stake is fighting in the US over its sweeps casino, with the group battling several class actions, including one in California.
However, these are considered to have a pretty slim chance of success given the numerous hurdles class actions need to get through.
LA’s complaint continued: “…Stake.us is especially pernicious and addictive because players can access the casino 24 hours a day, seven days a week, directly from their mobile phones or computers.
“Money that would otherwise be used to pay for rents, mortgages, utilities, food, clothing, school supplies, college tuition, and medical care goes instead to the Stake Illegal Gambling Scheme.
“The People therefore bring this action to stop the Stake Illegal Gambling Scheme from continuing to prey on Californians, recover all funds lost by Californians, and impose civil penalties on Defendants to deter future misconduct.”