Just as the accusations against Google and Apple appeared to have fallen away, the refiling of the case against them has once again raised questions over their role within the sweepstakes industry.
Last week, New Jersey resident Julian Bargo filed a notice with the New Jersey District Court to voluntarily dismiss his case against the tech giants, as well as the sweepstakes operators High 5 Casino, McLuck, Wow Vegas, and CrownCoins Casino.
However, Bargo, alongside fellow plaintiffs Lamar Prater and Rebecca Platt, has named Google and Apple, as well as their respective proprietary payments services, in a federal class action lawsuit for facilitating illegal gambling through the promotion of sweepstakes operators.
The suits alleges that both Google and Apple Pay were “distributing sweepstakes casino apps through their respective platforms”, “processing illicit transactions”, “taking a substantial percentage” of in-app purchases of the virtual coins used as currency by sweepstakes players, and shepherding “the most vulnerable customers to the sweepstakes casino websites and app” via targeted advertising.
Previously, two prior federal cases involving Bargo and Prater have been dismissed without prejudice.
Unlike in previous cases, Google and Apple are the only companies named in the lawsuit, and the plaintiffs are suing the pair to recover the losses sustained by all players who have wagered on any sweepstakes casino website through Apple or Google.
However, several examples of sweepstakes casinos were cited within the filing, including High 5 Casino, Chumba Casino and Luckland.
The lawsuit argues that sweepstakes casinos “camouflage their illegal gambling operations by promoting a two-tiered system of virtual currency used to play their games” and Google and Apple “willingly assist, promote and profit from this illegal scheme by offering users access to the apps designed by the Sweepstakes Casinos”.
It adds: “The Defendants facilitate the Sweepstakes Casinos’ predatory conduct by helping them target the consumers most likely to fall prey to their illicit scheme.
“The Defendants provide marketing guidance, promotional tools, and more to drive consumers to download the Sweepstakes Casinos’ apps and make in-app purchases.”
Each of the three plaintiffs claims that they have lost over $1000 playing on various sweepstakes casinos.
The sweepstakes casino vertical continues to drive conversation across the US as lawmakers consider the legality of the sector.
Lawmakers in numerous states, including Maryland, Mississippi and Connecticut, have introduced legislation that would ban sweepstakes casinos from operating. Additionally, sweepstakes operators have also received notices to exit jurisdictions from regulators.
Most significantly, in Connecticut, the state’s Department of Consumer Protection has announced High 5 Games, the company behind High 5 Casino, will be charged with over 1,000 criminal counts of conducting illegal gaming activity and has suspended its supplier licence.
Each charge is a Class A misdemeanour that carries a potential punishment of up to a year in jail and a maximum fine of $2000.
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