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This decision revived the lawsuit against Churchill Downs and Kater will now seek certification of the class. Smith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit authored an opinion reversing the district court’s decision, leaving the social gaming industry perplexed and concerned – some operators have since even decided to block Washington residents from their social gaming sites.ĭespite a line of federal cases involving social gaming that ruled in favour of the gaming companies, the three judge panel decided that under Washington law, Kater’s complaint did in fact state a cause of action. The district court granted Churchill Downs’ motion to dismiss the complaint because Kater could not recover funds under the RMLGA if the game at issue was not an illegal gambling game. The district court determined that because Big Fish Casino chips do not satisfy the requisite prize element, Big Fish Casino does not constitute illegal “gambling” under Washington law and thus, Kater failed to state a cause of action. Kater alleged that Churchill Downs violated the Washington Consumer Protection Act, and that Churchill Downs was unjustly enriched (i.e., Churchill Downs unlawfully benefited at the expense of Big Fish Casino users). Kater sought to recover the lost funds under Washington’s Recovery of Money Lost at Gambling Act (RMLGA). Kater claims she bought more than $1,000-worth of chips to continue playing the various casino games and eventually lost the chips during gameplay. In 2015, Kater filed a purported class action lawsuit in a federal court in the Western District of Washington against the then-parent of Big Fish Games, Churchill Downs. The terms provide that the virtual chips have no cash value, and cannot be exchanged for cash or merchandise, either with the operator or other players. LOST JUDGMENT CASINO FREELike most social games, users may obtain additional chips by winning games, via free chip replenishment, or by purchasing additional chips.īig Fish Casino users must accept Big Fish Casino’s “Terms of Use” before playing. Once downloaded, users are credited a certain number of free virtual casino chips that can be used to play Big Fish Casino games at no cost to the user. LOST JUDGMENT CASINO DOWNLOADUsers can download the Big Fish Casino application on any mobile device, free of charge. In 2013, the plaintiff, Cheryl Kater, started playing Big Fish Casino, a virtual game platform that offers social gaming in which users may play various casino games (i.e., blackjack, roulette, poker, etc.) using a virtual “currency”. ![]() However, this assumption may be mistaken, at least when it comes to Washington residents, after a recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on a purported class action lawsuit filed against racetrack and casino operator Churchill Downs Incorporated. LOST JUDGMENT CASINO FOR FREEwhen players run out of chips, more are subsequently added to their account for free - and as these virtual chips are not redeemable for cash or any merchandise prizes, both providers and players alike typically do not consider that any illegal gambling is taking place. ![]() LOST JUDGMENT CASINO REGISTRATIONMany social casino operators offer free chips upon initial registration and during gameplay - i.e. Glenn Light, Karl Rutledge and Mary Tran of Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie analyse the decision and consider whether such caution is warranted. A federal court in Washington State recently ruled that social casino games played at Big Fish Casino constituted illegal gambling, prompting other operators including PokerStars to pull their free play offerings in the state. ![]()
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