Verizon Text Lottery Class Action

A class action lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Federal Court claims Verizon participated in an on-going illegal lottery and charged cell phone subscribers 99 cents each time they entered the lottery.

According to the class action lawsuit, Verizon entered into a business relationship with third-party content providers to charge subscribers a premium fee in order to enter “games of chance” in which subscribers could win money. For example, in one such game, the “lucky case game” based on the TV show Deal or No Deal, subscribers try to guess which briefcase has $10,000 in it by sending a text message with their guess. One winner is chosen randomly out of the pool of entrants to receive the cash prize. Along with every guess sent via text message, the subscriber is given one entry into the prize drawing. A reply text confirming their entry follows. Subscribers pay a premium fee of $0.99 for both their text entry and the confirmation text.

The lawsuit claims paying these premium text fees was in essence “wagering money,” making these games “illegal lotteries designed to generate revenues far in excess of the value of the cash awarded.” It also alleges Verizon and the other unnamed defendants profited from these illegal lotteries by requiring subscribers to submit detailed personal information in order to enter the games, such as their full name, email address, date of birth and state of residence. The information they collected “provided them with valuable consumer information with which these defendants used for future marketing and promotional schemes,” the lawsuit says.  

The Verizon Text Lottery Class Action Lawsuit was brought on behalf of all Verizon subscribers who paid or incurred premium text message charges in connection with entering games of chance within the past three years and have not won any prize. It also includes a second class of California residents who incurred the same charges within the past four years. If certified, the class action lawsuit will seek restitution and interest for class members, among other things.

A copy of the Verizon Text Lottery Class Action Lawsuit can be read here.