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Virtual Gaming Worlds reports record earnings despite reduction in available customer base in the United States

Derek Helling

Legal Writer

Publish Date: Jun 11, 2026

Fact checked by: Matt Moreno

Key Points

Virtual Gaming Worlds or VGW shared that it made over A$7.3 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025.
Company operates multiple sweepstakes casino brands, including Chumba Casino and LuckyLand Slots.
Added restrictions on sweepstakes casino gameplay across the US have since limited VGW’s opportunities.

Documents shared by Virtual Gaming Worlds with the Australian government reveal that the company posted record earnings and profits during the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2025. Virtual Gaming Worlds was taken private shortly thereafter, making the earnings statement for all of FY24-25 the final look into the company’s performance for the foreseeable future.

On a macro level, the financial details suggest that early restrictions on where the company’s products like Chumba Casino and LuckyLand Slots can be played did not pose a serious detriment to its bottom line. However, the obstacles have increased in number since that time.

poker chips sitting on a laptop computer with a US dollar and playing cards plus dice

(Photo by Schöning/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Compliance documents reveal the state of VGW just prior to sale

Searchable documents on the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s website show the full array of Virtual Gaming World’s (VGW) mandatory reporting for FY 2024-25. Highlights from the reports included positive news for the people who held stock in VGW at the time.

A$7.3 billion in total revenues
A$656.8 million in profit
Nearly A$1 billion in cash reserves

The revenue figure represented an increase of 19% while profits escalated at a sharper rate of almost 34%. In terms of cash reserves, that number almost doubled compared to the holdings at the end of FY23-24.

In brief, VGW reached its zenith just before shareholders approved a takeover plan funded by Laurence Escalante. Escalante purchased the remaining shares of VGW before stepping aside as the company’s CEO in February following arrests on multiple charges.

Since Escalante took VGW private, the map of available jurisdictions for playing on the company’s website has shrunken in the United States.

Millions of US citizens lose legal access to VGW games

Since the end of FY24-25 for VGW, eight U.S. states have either had laws restricting sweepstakes casino games take effect or enacted statutes with the same intent that will take effect later in 2026. The adult population in the states represents millions of potential players on VGW’s sites.

California
Indiana
Louisiana
Maine
Montana
New Jersey
New York
Oklahoma
Tennessee

Moreover, Iowa has also enacted a statute that gives gambling regulators more authority to take action against sweepstakes casino operators like VGW.

Based on the latest U.S. Census data, that means a loss of potential depositors of between 65 million and 75 million individuals, simply accounting for people in those states of appropriate ages to play games on VGW sites. That figure does not account for whether the adults in these states were actually interested in such gaming or other factors beyond age and residency.

Several similar legislative initiatives have failed in other states, but the sponsors of the bills could try again in places like Maryland and Minnesota. Any subsequent limiting legislation would result in a further reduction of the addressable customer base in the U.S. for VGW.

VGW has responded to these statutes with compliance to date. For example, Chumba Casino has added Louisiana, Montana, New Jersey, and New York to the list of U.S. jurisdictions in which it does not offer gameplay on any level while restricting gameplay on its site to exclude sweeps coins play in other places in the U.S.

Because VGW is now a private company, there will be fewer public indicators of how these legislative changes have affected and will affect VGW’s bottom line moving forward. What is certain, though, is that VGW was performing strongly prior to Escalante’s takeover.

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