Stake.us hit with class action lawsuit in Illinois over alleged illegal online gambling scheme

Stake.us, the sweepstakes-style online casino, is facing a class action lawsuit in Illinois federal court. The suit is going after the company on behalf of all Illinois residents who lost money gambling on the site, aiming to get that money back.

The same law firm behind the case was awarded a $25 million jury win against High 5 Games in Washington. However, they’ve turned their focus to Stake.us, which they say is a “virtual clone” of the real-money casino site Stake.com, just dressed up to fly under the radar of US regulators and make it seem more harmless than it is.

NEW: https://t.co/ZWPLa9WGvN has been hit with a class action brought in Illinois federal court by same law firm which just won a $25M judgment against High 5 Gaming in WA. Lawsuit seeks recovery of gambling losses on behalf of all IL residents who lost money on Stake’s website. pic.twitter.com/d65A0N7AXg

— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) April 8, 2025

Brayden Urdan, the lead plaintiff in the case, is stepping up on behalf of all Illinois residents who lost money on Stake.us, as they attempt to shut the platform down and get players their money back.

This isn’t the first time Stake.us has come under legal fire in the US. There’s already another class action pending in California. But the Illinois case takes direct aim at what it calls a real-money gambling system dressed up as a “social casino.” According to the complaint, Stake is trying to make it look like it’s all fun and games while running an unlicensed online casino behind the scenes.

The lawsuit, which has been cited by gaming attorney Daniel Wallach, alleges: “Defendant Stake.us is a virtual clone of Stake.com, rebranded to mislead regulators and consumers into believing it offers harmless gameplay instead of an unlawful gambling.”

The central issue of the lawsuit is Stake.us’s dual-currency setup. On the surface, players are buying “Gold Coins,” which the platform says are just for casual, no-stakes gameplay. But with every Gold Coin purchase comes a bonus called “Stake Cash.”

What is Stake Cash?

According to the complaint, Stake Cash can be used to place bets on games and it can be cashed out for real money. That, the lawsuit argues, turns the entire platform into a thinly veiled real-money gambling operation, one that’s operating without a license and outside the bounds of Illinois law.

“On Stake.com, players buy chips, gamble, and cash out their winnings—just like at a regular casino. But Defendant knew that openly selling casino chips to U.S. customers would immediately expose Stake.us as an illegal online casino.

“To hide the true nature of its gambling operation, Defendant claims that the only chips it sells to consumers are harmless tokens called ‘Gold Coins,’ which can only be used for ‘casual’ gameplay… have no real-world value, and can never be cashed out.”

But the complaint calls this framing misleading, pointing out that players receive a set amount of Stake Cash, which can be redeemed 1:1 for US dollars, alongside every purchase.

The complaint takes a close look at how the platform sets its prices to make the case that Stake.us is selling Stake Cash, not Gold Coins as they claim.

“Every dollar spent buys players an equivalent amount of Stake Cash, plus an enormous quantity of nearly worthless Gold Coins. For example, $20 buys 20.05 Stake Cash (and 200,000 Gold Coins), $50 buys 50.12 Stake Cash (and 500,000 Gold Coins), and so on.”

Stake.us accused of keeping Illinois users and regulators in the dark

The lawsuit argues that the way Stake is set up clearly shows its real goal is to enable gambling while trying to keep both users and regulators in the dark.

It also calls out Stake.us for using aggressive and misleading marketing, especially on social media. According to the lawsuit, they present the site as “safe, fun, and harmless,” all while quietly promoting real-money gambling behind the scenes.

States like Maryland and New Jersey are starting to crack down on sweepstakes casino sites, and New York’s jumping on board too. As of March 31, lawmakers are pushing a bill that would ban these kinds of casinos entirely with a $100,000 fine for every violation if it gets signed into law.

ReadWrite has reached out to Stake for comment.

Featured image: Stake

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