Stake.us Arbitration Bid Rejected Amid Class-Action Suit in Minnesota
A Stake.us arbitration bid has been rejected by a Minnesota judge amid a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging that the sweepstakes casino offers illegal online gambling.
Stake.us had requested arbitration for a motion to compel in the Minnesota suit. However, it was denied, and the sweepstakes casino giant will now have to resolve the issue in court rather than out of it.
A rare occurrence for a very common case
The Minnesota ruling was a rarity among the many cases around the United States alleging sweepstakes casinos offer illegal gambling.
Sweepstakes operators have typically been granted arbitration early in lawsuits, citing clauses in their terms and conditions. The sweeps casino sites have argued that players have to agree to the terms and conditions to play at the casino.
Minnesota judge John Tunheim said that Stake.us did not have a compelling enough argument against the claims in the case. There is precedent in the Land of 10,000 Lakes that says that if contracts may violate state statutes, then they may be seen as void.
Stumbling block for Stake.us in Minnesota
Tunheim’s argument against Stake.us is that if there are findings that the sweeps casino is, in fact, offering illegal gambling, then the signed agreements players enter into upon registration could be null and void.
“If Stake’s Terms and Conditions are a contract entered into in violation of Minnesota’s gambling statutes, the Court must treat that contract as invalid and nonexistent," said Tunheim.
2025 lawsuit was filed by a Minnesota resident
Chris Wolters is a Minnesota resident who played at Stake.us from April 2023 to February 2025. He said that he had losses to the tune of $80,000 during that time period. After losing that money, he sought out gambling addiction help.
In August of last year, Wolters filed the lawsuit against Stake.us seeking an additional class-action lawsuit. His argument was that Stake.us offered illegal gambling, where players can make redemptions for real money, rather than offering a sweepstakes platform.
After the recent ruling, the attorney for Wolters, Vildan A. Teske, said: “We are pleased with the Court’s decision and look forward to litigating this case on behalf of our client and all of the other Minnesotans who have been impacted by Stake.us’ illegal gambling website.”
Stake.us argues that it's not an online casino
Stake.us argues that, because it uses a dual-currency system, it's not a traditional online casino. Minnesota is one of 42 states that do not offer legal online casino gambling.
Stake.us is like many sweepstakes casinos that use the dual-currency model. Players can use Gold Coins for free play while using Stake Cash for real-money redemptions. The dual-currency model was created to give players a free-play option that is not available on typical online casino platforms.
The Minnesota case involving Stake.us is one of many lawsuits filed by states against sweepstakes casinos.
