Massachusetts Residents Sue Stake.us for Alleged Illegal Gambling Operation
On Friday, May 23, 2025, a class action complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against Sweepsteaks Limited, the operator of the online gaming platform Stake.us.
The lawsuit, initiated by plaintiffs M.M. and Wascar Deleon, both Massachusetts residents, alleges that Stake.us operates an illegal gambling website in violation of state laws. The plaintiffs seek to represent all Massachusetts residents who have gambled on the site, claiming the company engages in deceptive practices and causes significant social harm.
The complaint accuses Sweepsteaks Limited, a Cyprus-based entity with a U.S. office in Dallas, Texas, of running an unlicensed gambling operation that offers casino-style games such as slots, poker, blackjack, and roulette. It alleges that Stake.us uses a “sweepstakes” model to evade Massachusetts gambling regulations, a tactic the lawsuit compares to illegal internet cafés from the early 2000s. These cafés, according to the filing, sold products like internet time while offering “free” sweepstakes entries for casino-style games, a practice courts consistently deemed unlawful gambling.
According to the lawsuit, Stake.us employs a dual-currency system involving “Gold Coins” for non-monetary play and “Stake Cash” for real-money gambling, redeemable for cryptocurrency. The plaintiffs argue that Stake Cash, provided as a supposed “free” bonus with Gold Coin purchases, functions as a proxy for real money, with a near one-to-one correlation between dollars spent and Stake Cash received. The complaint cites a federal court ruling against a similar platform, which resulted in a $25 million award to Washington state residents, as precedent for their claims.
The filing highlights the broader issue of online gambling addiction, noting a 45% increase in calls to the National Problem Gambling Helpline from 2021 to 2022. It claims Stake.us exacerbates this problem by targeting vulnerable populations, including minors, and failing to implement adequate player protections. The lawsuit also alleges that Stake.us violates the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act by accepting credit card payments, leading to significant consumer debt.
Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapters 93A and 137, the plaintiffs assert that Stake.us engages in unfair and deceptive practices by misleading users into believing the platform is a legal sweepstakes rather than gambling. The complaint references Massachusetts regulations that prohibit sweepstakes used as a pretext for gambling and cites a state law banning electronic devices that conduct or promote such activities. The plaintiffs further claim that Stake.us deprives Massachusetts of tax revenue that regulated casinos are required to pay.
The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief to shut down Stake.us, recovery of actual and statutory damages, including triple damages for losses incurred, and non-restitutionary disgorgement of the company’s profits. The proposed class includes tens of thousands of Massachusetts residents who have used the platform, with common legal questions centering on whether Stake.us operates unlawfully and whether plaintiffs are entitled to damages.
Stake.us originated in 2013 as Primedice, a cryptocurrency-based online dice game. Court documents reveal that its founders acknowledged potential legal and tax issues but proceeded with development. Primedice eventually evolved into Stake.com, which expanded to include Stake.us for U.S. users. The platform reportedly grew to offer a wide range of casino-style games and now processes $219 billion in Bitcoin transactions annually, handling over 4% of global Bitcoin transactions.
Please contact BlockTribune for access to a copy of this filing.
