Brigette Honaker  |  December 20, 2019

Category: Legal News

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man playing rise of kingdoms on phoneA Rise of Kingdoms class action claims that the mobile game violates gambling laws with its in-game microtransactions.

Rise of Kingdoms is a mobile game developed by Lilith Games, a developer based in Shanghai. Although the game is free to play, there are reportedly in-game purchases available to consumers.

In-game purchases, also known as microtransactions, are becoming more common due to the significant stream of income they provide to game developers.

Often times, microtransactions are based on luck of the draw. Consumers may be motivated to continue initiating microtransactions until they receive the benefit they are looking for. This is reportedly the case with Rise of Kingdoms microtransactions.

According to plaintiff Keith Coy’s recent class action, consumers are deceived about their ability to receive a solicited item or benefit which prompts them to make more purchases for the chance to receive the item or benefit.

Despite representations from the company, Rise of Kingdoms players are allegedly not guaranteed to receive the item solicited in microtransactions advertisements.

“In fact, the probability of receiving the solicited item is deceptively low, which ultimately results in a form of unlawful, unregistered, and unmonitored gambling in Defendant’s microtransaction business model,” the Rise of Kingdoms class action lawsuit claims.

Coy takes issue with several Rise of Kingdoms loot boxes, including their Wheel of Fortune. This roulette-like wheel reportedly uses in-game currency to allow players to land on one of 12 prizes. Players are allegedly motivated to purchase more “gems” in order to spin the Wheel of Fortune in the hope of gaining elite prizes.

Lilith Games reportedly takes their scheme even further by manipulating or fixing the outcomes of their gambling microtransactions in order to maximize profits. According to Coy, this behavior is unfair and unlawful under California gambling laws.

The Rise of Kingdoms class action lawsuit also notes that many players of the game are minors, meaning that they may be more likely to be manipulated by Lilith Games’ deceptive representations.

“Once entrapped, players often spend escalating amounts of money to protect their investment believing they have invested too much to quit,” the Rise of Kingdoms class action lawsuit claims. “In this way, players experience the sunk costs effect by which they may justify further purchases.”

Coy says he was manipulated into spending more than $8,000 on bundles and gems based on fraudulent representations of microtransactions.

In February, Big Fish Games faced similar claims in an illegal gambling class action lawsuit. The plaintiff alleged that the app deceives consumers into spending thousands of dollars on in-game purchases with the vague hope of winning large monetary prizes.

Did you play Rise of Kingdoms and made in-game purchases? Let us know in the comment section below.

Coy and the proposed Class are represented by Trent R. Kashima, Kevin J. Stoops, and Charles R. Ash IV of Sommers Schwartz PC.

The Rise of Kingdoms Class Action Lawsuit is Coy v. Lilith Games (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., et al., Case No. 3:19-cv-08192, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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36 thoughts onRise of Kingdoms Class Action Says Game Promotes Gambling

  1. Jason says:

    I am from Canada and have spent thousands along with others here. The game definitely manipulated many players including myself into believing that we had better odds of winning than we had. This is game is organized and structured as a gambling addiction tool used to siphon people’s hard earned money.

  2. Brian W says:

    How do i get added?

  3. Dani says:

    I’m from Canada and spent close to $4000 in less than 30 days, and then when I tried to talk to the game maker they ended up telling me that it wasn’t their problem and I should go get a job.

  4. Thomas says:

    Add me please. I spent so much on this game. For low returns. Also lag is bad. My troops always died Many times during kvk battles due to lag. I get a slow then frozen app. Once Im able to return, my soldiers are gone

  5. Mike says:

    I have spent over $8,000 on this game and to find out players are receiving free resources that I have to pay for is not ok. Please add me to the class action lawsuit

  6. Roberto Hernandez says:

    Add me to the lawsuit, I spent 100’s of dollars every month playing this game..I’ve been playing for almost 2 years now They Banned my account claiming that I used some Script ……I asked to reconsidered …but they just didn’t answered…So after spending 1000’s of dollars in the game now the banned my account…this so unfair….This game makes players believe they have a chance to win when in reality they just abusing and making you spend more and more money to have a chance……

  7. SCOTT FLEWELL says:

    I can even add more to Lithium host of stealing from its customers.. KvK 4 New Map for 1 purpose to insure fighting between kingdoms and that’s great but the map is many times smaller and puts millions of troops together all at once and lithium knows what is going to happen LAG In game system lag .. Lag has cause great loss of my investment as with thousands of other players. Lag cause no control of your investment and I have been victimized up to 10 seconds your basically frozen no control and when the lag comes to real time for you.. Your investment (T5 full March 200k Troops) have been destroyed by enemy attacks.. I have made several complaints about this issue and lithium even acknowledge theres a issue but refuses to correct..why should lithium correct the lag that is a direct result to its customers.. because we must purchase more in game to replace or heal the one that were lost because lithium refuses to correct the game lag… I wonder why ???? PLEASE SIGN ME UP LITHIUM MY BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS FRAUDULENT PRACTICE OF ITS CUSTOMERS

    1. Dont blame others for your issues says:

      *Lilith

  8. Karen says:

    Sadly to say I’m addicted to please add me

  9. James Moran says:

    I would report the same thing. The micro transactions are present in a lot of games but the fact that multiple funder accounts and even people using stolen credit cards can use their gains to actually damage your account and ruin the value that you have invested is a cheap tactic to keep consumers spending.
    Please add me to this.

  10. Betty Williams says:

    I’m additive. Add me

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