Casino City’s Friday Five: Jackpots, fines, and lawsuits edition

21 August 2026

By Dan Ippolito

Sweepstakes casinos are back in the headlines as the Florida Attorney General announced a lawsuit against several of them. In addition, we have a fine from the UKGC, a casino relocation in New Orleans, a massive jackpot winner in Florida, and a new development for prediction markets.

Let’s begin with a millionaire:

5. Seminole Casino Coconut Creek pays $1.6 million slot jackpot
A guest hit a life-changing Grand Jackpot worth more than $1.6 million while playing a Dragon Link slot machine at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek in Florida.

Following the win, the Dragon Link progressive jackpot was reset to $1 million.

4. Cantor Fitzgerald brings block trading to prediction markets
Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., a global investment bank, announced the launch of institutional trading for prediction markets, becoming one of the first full-service investment banks to provide institutional clients with access to block trading in event contracts on a CFTC-regulated exchange.

Cantor will act as an introducing broker, arranging and facilitating institutional-size block trades in event contracts through Kalshi’s block trading framework, allowing clients to negotiate trades at a single price away from the central order book.

3. Holland Park Leisure fined by UKGC
An adult gaming center operator is to pay a £150,000 fine for failing to comply with a self-exclusion requirement designed to reduce gambling harm.

Holland Park Leisure Limited, which runs three adult gaming centers in Leicester, will also undergo a third-party audit to review the licensee's policies, procedures and controls and their implementation, and the training and competency of the licensee’s staff.

In Great Britain, all consumer-facing land-based gambling businesses must participate in a multi-operator self-exclusion scheme, a consumer-protection measure allowing people who feel they are struggling with their gambling to self-exclude from one or more premises in their area.

An adult gaming centre operator is to pay a £150,000 fine for failing to comply with a self exclusion requirement designed to reduce gambling harm.

You can read more about this on our website ?? https://t.co/Pn2nb5iehM pic.twitter.com/SGbLrp6huN

— Gambling Commission (@GamRegGB) August 18, 2026

2. PENN Entertainment to relocate Boomtown Casino New Orleans
Earlier this week, PENN Entertainment announced plans to invest approximately $195 million to relocate its Boomtown Casino - New Orleans riverboat casino operations to a new landside property on adjacent land and rebrand the property as Hollywood Casino New Orleans.

If approved, Hollywood Casino New Orleans is expected to open in 2029 and will include roughly 140,000 square feet of new development, approximately 875 slot machines, 45 table games, a retail sportsbook, and multiple dining options. The existing riverboat will be vacated upon opening of the new property, and PENN expects to keep the existing hotel open at this time.

1. Florida AG sues sweepstakes casinos
Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the filing of two lawsuits against the operators of major online sweepstakes casinos, including Stake and VGW’s Chumba Casino, LuckyLand, and Global Poker, and the payment processors that enable them.

The complaints allege the defendants are operating illegal online gambling enterprises that violate Florida’s gambling laws and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

“These so-called ‘sweepstakes’ and ‘social casinos’ are illegal online gambling operations,” said Attorney General James Uthmeier. “If it looks like a casino, takes real money like a casino, and pays out like a casino, it is a casino—and it is illegal under Florida law. These companies have been preying on Floridians, including minors and seniors, with deceptive marketing and 24/7 access, while dodging our state’s licensing, taxation, and consumer-protection requirements. They must be stopped.”

If it looks like a casino, takes money like a casino, and pays out like a casino, it is a casino—and it’s illegal in Florida.

That’s why we’re suing predatory online gaming sites Stake and VGW to stop illegal gambling and recover money lost by Florida consumers. pic.twitter.com/JMboneyvxN

— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) August 19, 2026