Florida AG targets Worldpay, Trustly, Yodlee, Praxis Tech and Breeze Labs Payments in gambling lawsuits

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is widening the net in the state’s gambling enforcement campaign, naming payment processors alongside the operators of two major online “sweepstakes” platforms. For PSPs and banks, the useful detail is not the casino label but the enforcement pattern: regulators are starting to treat payments infrastructure as part of the case, not just the venue.

1. On August 16, Uthmeier announced two lawsuits against the operators of Stake and VGW, as well as the payment processors that support them. The complaints say the companies are running illegal online gambling enterprises in violation of Florida gambling laws.
2. In both filings, Uthmeier alleged: “Defendants operate illegal online casinos in the state of Florida.” He added that calling them “sweepstakes” casinos does not change the underlying mechanics: “If it looks, swims and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.”
3. Worldpay, owned by Global Payments, Trustly, Yodlee, Praxis Tech and Breeze Labs Payments were named as defendants across the two lawsuits. The filings say these companies “provide the financial infrastructure necessary to facilitate and process gambling transactions.” None of the payment companies immediately responded to requests for comment.
4. The August cases do not stop at the operators. Uthmeier also sent cease-and-desist letters to Visa, Mastercard and American Express in June over “facilitating payments for online gambling businesses,” though none of the three card networks were named as defendants in the August lawsuits.
5. Andy Bayley, director of risk and policy at LegitScript, said the Florida sweepstakes casino actions reflect a broader shift: liberalization in gambling is running into state enforcement, and the pressure is beginning to land on financial institutions connected to the platforms. “If I’m a bank, I’m waiting on the edge of a knife,” he said.

For banks, acquirers and PSPs, the point is simple: once a state regulator starts naming processors, the compliance question is no longer limited to merchant due diligence. It becomes an exposure question across sweepstakes casinos and, as the source notes, prediction markets that face similar allegations in multiple states.