Ninth appeal court ruling in Big Fish case spawns new lawsuits
News on 11 Apr 2018
News on 11 Apr 2018
The recent and controversial finding by the federal Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals that free-to-play social casino games constitute illegal gambling under Washington State law has resulted in a slew of new class actions being filed against social casino game developers.
Our readers may recall that The Ninth Appeal court case involved Big Fish Gaming, following litigation through lower courts by a player. In his judgement, appeal court judge Milan Smith said that “Without virtual chips, a user is unable to play Big Fish Casino’s various games.
“Thus, if a user runs out of virtual chips and wants to continue playing Big Fish Casino, she must buy more chips to have ‘the privilege of playing the game.’ Likewise, if a user wins chips, the user wins the privilege of playing Big Fish Casino without charge. In sum, these virtual chips extend the privilege of playing Big Fish Casino.
“We therefore reverse the district court and hold that because Big Fish Casino’s virtual chips are a ‘thing of value,’ Big Fish Casino constitutes illegal gambling under Washington law.”
Four current lawsuits have been filed following Judge Smith’s decision, and target developers Huuuge Games, DoubleDown Interactive, High 5 Games and Playtika…all involve casino-style games in which virtual chips can be purchased.
The suits, filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle and Tacoma, use similar language and arguments in their filings, according to the publication Geek Wire.. Three are from the same plaintiff, and the same law firm and lawyers – Janissa A. Strabuk and Cecily C. Shiel of Seattle-based Tousley Brain Stephens – lead the legal teams in the lawsuits.
Geek Wire reports that the suits focus on the same arguments as the Big Fish case, and that the plaintiffs seek class action status for their lawsuits. They are also asking that the gaming companies be barred from “continuing the challenged conduct” and for damages.
Sean Wilson, the plaintiff in three of the lawsuits claims to have spent only about $20 on chips for casino games from Huuuge, High 5 and Playtika. Plaintiff Adrienne Benson claims to have lost about $1,000 on DoubleDown games.
The lawsuits cite a figure from JP Morgan saying that these free “games of chance generated over $3.8 billion in worldwide revenue,” in 2016, with expected growth of 10 percent annually.
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