Editor
As the sweepstakes gambling industry continues to lose ground state by state, the Australian company that owns Global Poker and Chumba Casino has made a notable political investment in one of the strictest gambling regulatory markets in the U.S., Alabama.
Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW) donated $30,000 to the Alabama gubernatorial campaign of U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville in March, according to campaign finance filings. VGW founder Laurence Escalante, who became a billionaire through the booming sweepstakes market, stepped away from day-to-day operations following recent legal troubles. VGW made the donation through its subsidiary, VGW Luckyland Inc.
It comes at a time when states continue to ban sweepstakes gambling. Maine became the latest to act after Gov. Janet Mills signed legislation into law that outright bans dual-currency sweepstakes casinos. Indiana followed with a similar move in March. Six other states passed anti-sweepstakes measures in 2025, including major markets like New Jersey, New York, and California.
Alabama, in contrast, has made no changes to gambling laws in decades and doesn’t look likely to do so anytime soon. It remains one of just five states without a lottery, and attempts to change this have repeatedly fallen short.
Lawmakers quickly defeated an attempt to push through a comprehensive gambling bill last year in the Senate without a floor vote, with the Senate majority leader saying the matter was set back “20 years.”
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Alabama a Strong State for Gray Market Operators
The gray market takes advantage of the absence of any licensed online gambling operations in the state. People in Alabama often cross state lines to Florida, Mississippi, and Georgia even just to buy Powerball tickets. The Poarch Band of Indians operates the only land-based gambling facilities in the state, which are Class II properties that only house bingo-based products.
Sweepstakes sites have become a viable alternative in markets such as Alabama. They generally use a dual-currency model. Users spend real money buying coin packages, and then redeem Sweeps Coins (site credit, essentially) for cash prizes.
Alabama has no gambling commission to determine the legality of these platforms or issue cease-and-desist letters. This gap attracts an industry facing headwinds nationwide.
Talking to AL.com, Nova Southeastern University Professor of Law Robert Jarvis said that, “VGW is looking to the future and hoping to buy goodwill with a candidate who may in the future be in a position to help change Alabama’s gambling laws.”
Tuberville has kept a non-committal public stance on gambling to date. He has said that the question of a state lottery and other forms of gambling expansion sits with the legislature, not the governor. He added that the public could ultimately vote on it if lawmakers support it.
A Sweepstakes Poker Carve Out in Indiana
New funding comes at a notable time for VGW, as it recently secured a partial win in Indiana. The state approved a sweepstakes ban in March, but lawmakers explicitly carved out peer-to-peer skill-based poker games. That carve-out only covers a small group of operators, most notably VGW’s Global Poker.
Other sweepstakes products like slots, table games, and sports betting that use a dual-currency model will face a ban starting July 1. However, Global Poker will continue operating as it positions itself as a skill game involving player-versus-player competition. This marks the first time any state’s anti-sweepstakes legislation has made such a distinction.
State Sen. Kyle Walker pushed to amend the House-passed bill, and lawmakers quickly passed the final bill in both the House and Senate, showing they mainly focused on shutting down slot-style products.
Despite the partial win in Indiana, VGW still faces the aftermath of the California and New York bans, which analysts estimate cut the addressable market by about 30% for sweepstakes operators.
The new law in Maine imposes fines of $10,000 to $100,000 per infraction, along with possible criminal prosecution. Regulators will also permanently bar anyone violating the sweepstakes ban from obtaining any state gaming licenses in the future.
Significant Funding Building for Tuberville
Maryland, Delaware, Louisiana, and Tennessee have all issued cease-and-desist orders against VGW. The company has also faced class action lawsuits in multiple states.
Smaller competitors have ceased operations in recent months, including LuckyStars Casino, Kickr, Betty Sweeps, and Turbo Stakes Casino.
Alabama is increasingly becoming a strategic territory for a company seeking a stable foothold. Tuberville’s campaign raised $581,377 in March, including the VGW contribution. He also received donations from numerous Alabama healthcare companies and $10,000 from a Florida casino, reportedly the first time a casino contributed to an Alabama political campaign since 2014.
The Alabama primary will take place on May 19, with the general election set for November 3. Former Democratic U.S. Sen. Doug Jones is running for the party’s nomination and trails Tuberville significantly in fundraising. Tuberville holds an absurdly large funding lead over his Republican rivals as well. Prediction market odds make him a prohibitive favorite to win the governorship.
The gambling industry will closely watch the flow of money into Tuberville’s campaign from gambling interests for further hints as to his plans toward gambling in Alabama.
