$155M Big Fish Games App Settlement Reached

The plaintiffs in two lawsuits against Big Fish Games have agreed in principle to an overall $155 million settlement of their claims of illegal gambling operations.

The attorneys involved have filed a motion to push the “pause” button on both lawsuits, allowing time to merge the claims — and the settlement — into a single class action.

Plaintiffs Cheryl Kater and Suzie Kelly filed suit five years ago after losing an unspecified amount of money through the Washington-based company’s app. In February 2019, Manasa Thimmegowda filed a similar action after racking up more than $3,000 worth of in-app purchases in a little more than two years.

“By operating Big Fish Casino and other similar online gambling games, Defendants have violated Washington law and illegally profited from tens of thousands of consumers,” the Big Fish casino games class action lawsuit states.

According to both class action lawsuits, “free-to-play” games generate billions in revenue each year — largely because users generally must make in-app purchases to continue playing. Big Fish Games is among the app developers profiting from that market, offering electronic casino and slot machine games via Facebook, Android and Apple iOS devices.

The plaintiffs argue the Big Fish Games app can be addictive, hooking gambling addicts into spending thousands of dollars through its VIP Program. The VIP “hosts” keep in contact with these players via phone and email, giving them free chips and access to new games to keep them interested in the app.

However, unlike their counterparts at traditional casinos, the plaintiffs claim that Big Fish hosts are not required to cut players off when they show symptoms of addiction. In fact, Kelly reported that her VIP host tried to cajole her into continuing when she tried to take a break from the app because she was spending too much money on it.

The class actions allege that Big Fish Games is violating two Washington state laws — the Recovery of Money Lost at Gambling Act and the Consumer Protection Act — because its games constitute online gambling.

“Defendants’ online gambling games are illegal gambling games because they are online games at which players wager things of value (the chips) and by an element of chance (e.g., by spinning an online slot machine) are able to obtain additional entertainment and extend gameplay (by winning additional chips),” the Big Fish Games class action states.

Attorneys for Kater and Kelly filed a motion last May to compel arbitration and the submission of pretrial evidence. They accused Big Fish and its parent company at the time, Churchill Downs, of intentionally dragging out the proceedings. “Churchill Downs’ obstructionism in this 2015 case should not be countenanced,” the plaintiffs wrote in that motion.

Big Fish Games also tried to delay Thimmegowda’s class action last year, she claims; and while she offered to accept their proposed stay with the caveat that jurisdictional discovery continue, the defendants declined. She noted at the time: “It’s hard not to wonder: What, exactly, are Defendants trying so hard to hide?”

A “PBS Newshour” investigation cited by Law360 delved into the issue, looking at complaints sent to Washington state lawmakers and other evidence of the business model behind the Big Fish Games app. Based on its findings, the plaintiffs maintain that the model boils down to this: “Get as many customers in the door as possible, employ high-pressure sales tactics to convert the most vulnerable of those customers into addicts, and then milk those new addicts for all they are worth.”

This month’s preliminary settlement agreement calls for Big Fish and its co-defendants to establish a $155 million “non-reversionary” settlement fund. (This means even if the full amount can’t be disbursed to class members, the defendants will not get any of those funds back.) The agreement also includes unspecified “prospective measures.”

More details of the settlement are expected to be released later this month.

Have you played any casino games offered by Big Fish Games? Tell us your story in the comments below.

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

The plaintiffs in both suits are represented by Jay Edelson, Todd Logan, Rafey S. Balabanian and Brandt Silver-Korn of Edelson PC and Janissa A. Strabuk of Tousley Brain Stephens PLLC.

The Big Fish Class Action Lawsuits are Cheryl Kater and Suzie Kelly, et al. v. Churchill Downs Inc. and Big Fish Games Inc., Case No. 2:15-cv-00612; and Manasa Thimmegowda, et al. v. Big Fish Games, et al., Case No. 2:19-cv-00199, both in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

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