Apple and Google have faced a class action lawsuit that alleges the tech giants are facilitating illegal online gambling via sweepstakes casino apps, a type of social casino that is not technically gambling but offers the possibility of tangible winnings.
Julian Bargo, Lamar Prater, and Rebecca Pratt have filed a lawsuit against Apple and Google under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), accusing the tech giants of facilitating illegal online gambling via sweepstakes casino apps and profiting from it.
According to the lawsuit, Apple and Google:
- provided distribution of these apps via the App Store and Google Play,
- received a percentage of each purchase of virtual coins used in the games,
- processed “illegal transactions” between users and casinos via their payment systems,
- used targeted advertising and search algorithms to “direct the most vulnerable customers to sweepstakes casino websites and apps.”
This is the third attempt by plaintiffs Bargo and Prater, this time joined by a third plaintiff, Pratt. Unlike previous cases in which gaming platform operators were also defendants, the new lawsuit focuses solely on Apple and Google.
The lawsuit alleges that Sweepstakes casinos offer traditional gambling games – blackjack, roulette and a host of slot machines – that can be played for free for entertainment purposes for free virtual coins.
But at the same time sweepstakes allow users to buy the primary class of virtual coins for real money, and in the course of the game, they are given secondary coins, which give them the right to participate in the drawing of valuable prizes.
Apple and Google have yet to comment publicly on the lawsuit.
