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Google and Apple named as defendants with Wow Vegas, CrownCoins Casino, McLuck, and High5 Casino also named in the class action suit
In a year that has already seen the sweepstakes industry embroiled in several legal battles, tech giants Apple and Google have been targeted for the first time in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) lawsuit related to sweepstakes casinos.
The class action lawsuit, which was filed in New Jersey on the 27th of November 2024, alleged that both companies illegally are profiting from sweeps casinos due to the profit they receive from housing these platforms on their app stores. He also added that their provision of payment methods, such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, further implicates them by facilitating financial transactions within these apps.
This won’t be the first time that a payment processor would be named in a lawsuit against a sweepstakes site. In Makayla Darrielle Saulny’s October lawsuit against VGW, WorldPay was named as a defendant, with the Missipipi plaintiff alleging that the payment processor “aided and abetted” VGW’s gambling business by enabling transactions for the platform.
The plaintiff in this case is Julian Bargo, a New Jersey resident who claimed to have lost over $1000 playing at multiple sweepstakes casinos. The platforms named as defendants in his lawsuit for allegedly offering illegal gambling services include Wow Vegas, CrownCoins Casino, McLuck, and High5 Casino.
A Wave of Legal Action for Sweepstakes Operators
From a legal standpoint, it has been a turbulent year for the sweepstakes casino industry. Last month, VGW, the operator of popular platforms such as Chumba Casino, Luckyland Slots, and Global Wild, faced its 12th legal battle after yet another class action lawsuit was filed in the Hartford Superior Court in Connecticut. The company paid out over $10 million in settlement payouts last year.
Similar to past class actions, Bargo believes that sweepstakes casinos are operating as social casinos but are actually unregulated casinos without oversight. He read: “The Gaming Defendants have succeeded in misleading regulators about the true nature of their operations for far too long,” He also included multiple marketing pieces, which he claims are misleading and designed to make players believe that these platforms are free-to-play.
Sweepstakes casinos don’t require licensing to operate and allow users to play for free. These platforms also let users spend money on virtual currency, which unlocks features like more gaming options and, in some cases, real money prizes. Some states, particularly Ohio and Michigan, have taken serious steps to ban these sweepstakes casinos, but they still operate without regulation in at least 40 states.
Source: YogoNet
