VGW Luckyland Inc., a US subsidiary of sweepstakes casino operator VGW Holdings, has donated $30,000 to Tommy Tuberville in his campaign to become Alabama Governor.
Tuberville, a former football coach and sports broadcaster, is the frontrunner for the Republican primary in May; this also makes him the de facto favorite overall for November’s gubernatorial vote in a deeply Republican state.
Meanwhile, VGW is the operator of popular sweepstakes casinos including Chumba, Global Poker, LuckyLand Slots, and LuckyLand Casino; the company was also the original innovator in this vertical which has seen massive growth in recent years.
Sweepstakes casinos function via Gold Coins and Sweepstakes Coins (the latter available for real cash redemptions), and the virtual nature of these tokens allows the sites to operate outside of standard gambling law in most states, including Alabama.
That being said, the format has come under fire for its similarities to real money online gambling, with states including California and New York banning the format with new legislation last year. Indiana and Maine are leading the charge in 2026, while the Alabama legislature is yet to look into banning the format.
Alabama’s Gambling Framework
As a whole, the Yellowhammer State has a strict anti-gambling framework – there’s not much beyond physical casinos operated by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. In fact, there’s not even a state lottery there. But, of course, any future shift in AL’s legislation would pass through the legislature and be signed off by the Governor, putting figures like Tuberville squarely in focus for operators.
Tuberville has not publicly positioned himself as a pro-gambling candidate, and has said that decisions on gambling expansion should ultimately be left to voters and the legislature. It’s worth mentioning that there are also no clear party lines when it comes to sweepstakes gaming, with bans being proposed by both Republican and Democrat lawmakers up till now.
VGW’s contribution to Tuberville is relatively modest in the context of a statewide campaign too, but it signals that sweepstakes operators are paying attention to jurisdictions like Alabama where both risk and opportunity exist.
VGW is No Stranger to Lobbying
VGW was also a central founding partner of sweepstakes industry group Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA), which has lobbied (often unsuccessfully) against anti-sweeps bills up till now.
SGLA employees often appear at legislative hearings, putting forward the case for a withdrawal of any ban proposal and suggesting regulation instead. The group also recently began to promote the economic benefits of regulated sweeps gaming in Florida.
However, VGW founder Laurence Escalante, was recently arrested in his home country of Australia on charges including alleged assault and drug-related offences. This led to VGW announcing Mats Johnson as Acting Chief Executive Officer in February, with Escalante taking a “leave of absence”.
Still, the company continues to operate its various sweepstakes brands. Escalante’s sweepstakes sportsbook Kickr closed down earlier this year, but another VGW casino is likely to be launched this year under the name ‘United Slots‘.
While VGW’s contribution of $30,000 is a relatively small donation in the context of a governor’s campaign – and was recently bested by a charitable donation to the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Prevent Cancer Foundation – it is notable for the fact that sweepstakes operators are beginning to seriously engage politically in America.
Author: Alex Windsor
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