01 · The casino
Sports first, slots second
Most sweepstakes sites are casinos with a few extras. Kickr was the other way round. It was built as a social sportsbook, where players used a coin called Bucks to bet on sports for fun and for prizes, with a sweepstakes casino added on. It opened in mid 2023.
The company behind it was Kickr Games Pty Ltd. That company belonged to the family office of Laurence Escalante, the founder of VGW. VGW runs Chumba Casino and LuckyLand Slots, two of the biggest names in US sweepstakes. Kickr was not owned by VGW itself, but it sat in the same family of businesses.
That link matters because of what happened at VGW in early 2026. Escalante stepped away from his roles as chief executive and executive chairman in January 2026. Kickr’s closure was announced a few weeks later.
02 · The shutdown
A full month of warning
The closure was announced on 1 March 2026. From that day, nobody new could sign up and nobody could buy Bucks. Players were told to cash out any Bucks they had before 31 March 2026. On that date the site closed.
The reason given was shifting market conditions and a decision by the parent company to focus on new verticals and brands. In plain words, the owners decided Kickr was not worth keeping and wanted to spend their money elsewhere.
A month of notice is about as good as it gets in this industry. Compare it with sites that closed in 2026 with a week of warning, or with none. Kickr players had time to sort out their ID checks, send cash-out requests and get paid before the doors shut.
Kickr was one of several Escalante-linked brands that changed in 2026. Later in the year VGW itself announced the closure of LuckyLand Slots. The two closures are separate, but they came from the same corner of the industry under the same pressure.
03 · The money
Cashing out Bucks before the end
Players were told to redeem their remaining Bucks before 31 March 2026. The site stayed open for play and cash-outs during March, so there was a real window to get money out.
We have not seen complaints saying in-time cash-outs were refused. Given the size and record of the businesses involved, we would expect requests sent in March to have been paid. But we have no document that proves it for every player, so we grade the money outcome as Unconfirmed rather than Confirmed paid.
Anything left on the site after 31 March 2026 was lost. The notice did not offer to move balances to any other brand.
04 · The receipts
How we verified this record
Every claim on this page is graded by how firmly we could check it. Confirmed means we saw it in the operator’s own notice or in a document that cannot easily be faked. Observed means we saw it ourselves on the live site or domain on the date given. Unconfirmed means it has been reported but we could not prove it.
05 · The questions
Kickr – the questions still open
Q. Was Kickr owned by VGW?
Not directly. It was owned by the family office of VGW’s founder, Laurence Escalante. VGW itself runs Chumba and LuckyLand.
Q. What were Bucks on Kickr?
Bucks were Kickr’s coin. Players used them to bet on sports and play casino games, and could cash them out for prizes.
Q. How much notice did Kickr give?
A full month. The closure was announced on 1 March 2026 and the site closed on 31 March 2026.
Q. Why did Kickr shut?
The owners said market conditions had changed and they wanted to focus on other brands. It came weeks after VGW’s founder stepped back from his roles.
Q. Can I still get Bucks out of Kickr?
No. The deadline was 31 March 2026. Anything left after that was lost.