WOW Vegas faces two class actions claiming online casino is illegal in Illinois

WOW Vegas class action lawsuits overview:

• Who: A number of plaintiffs have filed two separate class action lawsuits against MW Services Ltd., doing business as WOW Vegas, and other related companies.
• Why: The plaintiffs claim WOW Vegas operates an illegal casino in violation of Illinois law.
• Where: The WOW Vegas class action lawsuits were both filed in Illinois federal court.

Two separate class action lawsuits claim that WOW Vegas operates an illegal casino in violation of Illinois law. 

Plaintiff Marlena Wieseman’s case, filed on July 23, claims MW Services Ltd., doing business as WOW Vegas, illegally operates one of the most popular and profitable casino and sweepstakes gaming websites on the internet.

Plaintiffs Milauncre Mayhone and Catherine Rousseau filed their class action complaint against MW Services Limited, WOW Services Limited, WOWCom Services Inc., CyberHorizon Limited and Arena Entertainment Limited on July 30, also in Illinois federal court.

The plaintiffs allege WOW Vegas lures consumers by falsely marketing itself as a harmless “social casino” that only offers free-to-play entertainment.

Did you lose money while gambling through an online sweep coin casino marketed as free to use? See if you qualify for a class action lawsuit investigation. 

“In practice, WOW Vegas operates in a manner virtually indistinguishable from a traditional online casino,” Wieseman argues.

Meanwhile, Mayhone and Rousseau state that “in reality, WOW Vegas is an illegal gambling operation that profits from players wagering and losing real money on virtual slot machines and other casino-style games.”

WOW Vegas operates an unlicensed bait-and-switch gambling operation, plaintiffs claim

Mayhone and Rousseau allege WOW Vegas bundles every purchase of “WOW Coins” — which they claim are harmless tokens that can only be used for casual gameplay — with a second type of token called “Sweeps Coins,” which can be wagered on casino games and cashed out for real money at a fixed 1:1 ratio to the U.S. dollar.

“Defendants’ pricing structure confirms that the true purpose of these transactions is to sell Sweeps Coins — not WOW Coins,” Mayhone and Rousseau’s class action states.

“WOW Vegas’s operations flout these legal requirements by providing unlicensed gambling services to Illinois residents via the internet,” Wieseman’s class action claims.

Wieseman argues that WOW Vegas’ operations flout Illinois’ regulatory framework, which requires that gambling games may only be offered by licensed operators at approved physical locations.

The plaintiffs are looking to represent anyone in Illinois who lost money wagering on the platform. They are suing for violations of Illinois gambling laws and consumer laws and seeking certification of the class action lawsuits, restitution, damages, fees, costs and a court order blocking the company from continuing the alleged scheme.

Earlier this year, a class action filed against Stake.us, operating under SweepSteaks Ltd., accused the company of running an illegal online casino in violation of Illinois law by deploying a similar two-token system.

Have you lost money wagering on WOW Vegas’ online casino games? Let us know in the comments.

Wieseman is represented by Scott Edelsberg and Gabriel Mandler of Edelsberg Law P.A. and Andrew Shamis and Edwin Elliot of Shamis & Gentile P.A. Mayhone and Rousseau are represented by J. Eli Wade-Scott, Ari J. Scharg, Michael Ovca and Hannah Hilligoss of Edelson P.C.The WOW Vegas class action lawsuits are Wieseman v. MW Services Ltd., Case No. 3:25-cv-03216-CRL-DJQ, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Springfield Division, and Mayhone, et al. v. MW Services Limited, et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-08956, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

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