Florida Targets Google and Meta Over Sweepstakes Casino Ads

According to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s official announcement, letters were sent to Google, Meta, Reddit, Snap and TikTok after his office said the platforms may be advertising sweepstakes casinos to Florida residents. Uthmeier gave the companies until 23 October to confirm the steps taken to stop promotions for sites including Stake, Chumba Casino, LuckyLand and Global Poker.

The latest step follows Florida’s August legal action against Stake and VGW, which operates Chumba Casino, LuckyLand and Global Poker. The state is seeking injunctions and financial remedies while alleging that the companies’ sweepstakes models amount to unauthorised gambling.

Those allegations remain before the courts. As previously covered in Ace Alliance’s report on Florida’s lawsuits against Stake and VGW, no final ruling has yet established the state’s claims against the operators.

Uthmeier is now applying the same enforcement position to companies carrying or distributing advertising.

In his official announcement, Uthmeier said:

Promoting illegal gambling is a crime.

The wording reflects the attorney general’s position that businesses facilitating the promotion of operators his office considers unlawful may also face scrutiny. It should not be read as a court determination that all sweepstakes casino advertising is unlawful in Florida.

The letters create an immediate compliance question for major advertising platforms.

Google, Meta, Reddit, Snap and TikTok will need to assess whether their existing gambling-ad controls are sufficient to prevent campaigns for the named operators from reaching Florida users. That could involve advertiser verification, geo-targeting restrictions, prohibited-keyword controls and additional monitoring of paid social campaigns.

The issue also comes as regulated US operators are facing higher expectations around digital marketing. The ROGA Marketing and Advertising Code introduced in August places greater emphasis on audience targeting, promotional accuracy and oversight of third-party marketing relationships.

Florida’s action is different because it concerns the promotion of operators the attorney general considers unauthorised, but both developments point towards greater scrutiny of how gambling campaigns are approved and distributed online.

The impact may also extend downstream to affiliates, influencers and performance marketing agencies.

If advertising platforms strengthen Florida-specific restrictions, affiliates could face tighter requirements around geo-targeting, landing pages, paid search campaigns and social media placements. Operators may also need more detailed records showing where campaigns ran, which audiences were targeted and which third parties were responsible for distribution.

That is particularly relevant for businesses running nationwide acquisition programmes, where one campaign can reach multiple state markets with very different regulatory positions.

Sweepstakes operators are already facing a fragmented US enforcement environment. VGW recently agreed to an $8 million New York settlement over its sweepstakes casino operations, while other states have taken legislative or enforcement action against similar models.

Florida’s latest move shows how enforcement around sweepstakes casinos can extend beyond the operator itself.

The August lawsuits targeted operators and companies accused of facilitating payments. The new letters bring advertising platforms into the same regulatory conversation, potentially adding another layer of risk for businesses involved in customer acquisition.

The next significant date is 23 October, when the five technology companies are expected to explain their response. Their answers could provide an early indication of whether Florida’s campaign leads to broader changes in gambling advertising controls across major digital platforms.