Chumba Casino and LuckyLand Slots $11.75 Million Kentucky Settlement: Paid in 2023

The case is Armstead v. VGW Malta Ltd., et al., Case No. 2022-CI-00553, in the Henderson Circuit Court in Kentucky, before Judge Karen L. Wilson. The defendants were VGW Malta Ltd. and VGW Luckyland, Inc., which run the social casino games Chumba Casino and LuckyLand Slots. The class representative was Amy Jo Armstead, and the court appointed Bursor & Fisher, P.A. as class counsel.

The lawsuit claimed VGW violated Kentucky's gambling laws through the sale of virtual coins in the two games. VGW denied all claims and denied that it violated any law; the court approved a settlement and never ruled on whether the games were illegal gambling.

Besides money, VGW agreed to measures aimed at problem play, including self-service resources for players, voluntary self-exclusion, and game mechanics so players who run low on virtual coins can keep playing without an unreasonable wait.

The class definition tracks a specific Kentucky statute. Under KRS 372.020, a person who loses $5 or more to another at one time, or within 24 hours, and pays it, can sue the winner to recover it within five years. The law dates to Kentucky's 1942 recodification, long before online games existed.

That is why the class covered only people who spent at least $5.00 in a 24-hour period while in Kentucky, and why the class period ran five years, from March 17, 2017 to March 17, 2022. Most states do not have a loss-recovery law this direct, which helps explain why this settlement was limited to Kentucky. For how this theory is being used in other states, see our page on sweepstakes casino lawsuits.

The class was all individuals who, while in Kentucky, spent $5.00 or more within a 24-hour period on Chumba Casino or LuckyLand Slots between March 17, 2017 and March 17, 2022. Location was determined from billing address, IP address, or other information VGW provided.

• Players who were in Kentucky when they made purchases were covered.
• Players in other states were not, even if they spent heavily.
• Players who never spent $5 in a single 24-hour period were not covered.

A Kentucky player who spent at least $5.00 in any 24-hour window during the five-year class period met the spending test. Anyone who filed a request for exclusion by December 15, 2022 was out of the class.

There was no flat payment. The settlement site said each payment depended on two things: the total dollar amount of a claimant's in-game purchases on the two games, and how many class members filed claims. Players who spent more received a higher percentage of their purchases back, not just a bigger dollar amount. A payment estimate tool on the settlement website let claimants see an estimate before the deadline.

The court awarded class counsel the requested fees, costs, and expenses of no more than 30% of the fund. Administration and notice costs also came out of the fund. No official average payment was published, and we have not found a reliable source for typical amounts, so we do not report one. Money from uncashed checks could go to a second distribution or to Kentucky's Civil Rule 23 account maintained by the Kentucky IOLTA Fund, a form of cy pres.

As of September 2026, the settlement is complete: the administrator's site states that payments have been issued to all eligible class members, and the case website now says the case is no longer active. The court granted final approval at the January 9, 2023 hearing. The settlement administrator was JND Legal Administration (VGW Games Settlement, P.O. Box 91350, Seattle, WA 98111; 1-844-633-0695). If you filed but never received or cashed a payment, contact JND, and see what to do if your settlement check never arrived.

No new claims are possible. Kentucky class members who did not opt out by December 15, 2022 released their claims against VGW over the class period, whether or not they filed a claim.

Players in other states, and Kentucky players with losses after March 17, 2022, were not covered by this release. Our sweepstakes casino lawsuits page tracks claims against other operators; those are allegations, not proven findings, and each state's law differs. If you lost significant money on a sweepstakes casino, a free case review can connect you with independent attorneys who handle these cases. Our page on sports betting addiction lawsuits covers related claims against betting apps.

Other gaming settlements include the Sony PlayStation Store settlement and the Fortnite FTC refunds. Browse all open settlements to find ones still taking claims.