Plaintiffs Try Another Bite at the Apple… and Google Too!

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
Contact

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

In a recent post about legal issues with the social casino sweepstakes model, we indicated that a recent RICO lawsuit against a social casino sweepstakes model, which also named Apple and Google, was dismissed voluntarily by the plaintiff. Plaintiffs are already taking another bite at the Apple.

A new lawsuit was filed against Apple and Google by lead Plaintiff Bargo and two co-plaintiffs. The new complaint alleges that the lawsuit is about “patently illegal gambling software being distributed to the cell phones, desktop computers and other personal electronic devices of individuals throughout New Jersey, New York and beyond, by an unlawful enterprise that includes two of the most successful companies in the world.” This complaint does not name any of the social casino games operators.

Rather, it alleges that the named defendants “willingly assist, promote and profit from” allegedly illegal gambling by: (1) offering users access to the apps through their app stores; (2) taking a substantial percentage of consumer purchases of Game Coins, Sweeps Coins and other transactions within the apps; (3) processing allegedly illicit transactions between consumers and the Sweepstakes Casinos using their proprietary payment systems; and (4) by using targeted advertising to allegedly “shepherd the most vulnerable customers to the Sweepstakes Casinos’ websites and apps” facilitating an allegedly unlawful gambling enterprise.

The legal claims are made under the NJ gambling loss recovery statute, the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, Unjust Enrichment, New York’s gaming loss recovery statute, NY consumer protection laws, and the RICO laws.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations. Attorney Advertising.

© Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Written by:

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
Contact
more
less

PUBLISH YOUR CONTENT ON JD SUPRA NOW

  • Increased visibility
  • Actionable analytics
  • Ongoing guidance

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on:

Reporters on Deadline

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
Custom Email Digest
- hide
- hide