Apple Should Pay Back Money Lost To Illegal Gambling Apps, Claims Class Action Lawsuit

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A Connecticut consumer wants Apple to pay her and others back for money they lost on illegal gambling apps purchased through its App Store.  

Lead plaintiff, Karen Workman originally filed her class action lawsuit against the tech giant in Connecticut federal court. The lawsuit accusing Apple of unfairly profiting from illegal gambling apps, was transferred to California federal court last week. The lawsuit will be reviewed by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, along with other Apple class actions accusing the company of violating various state gambling laws.  

Workman says in her class action lawsuit that she downloaded the casino-style gambling game Jackpot Mania from the Apple App Store in 2017.  

The plaintiff says that Jackpot Mania, along with thousands of other gambling games sold on the Apple App Store, work by initially offering free credits, coins, or tokens to consumers. If the consumer wins, they get more tokens, allowing them to play additional games; however, eventually the free credits run out and the game offers tokens for money.  

Workman claims that in the year she played Jackpot Mania, she spent more than $3,000 on tokens to continue to play the gambling game. She accuses Apple of violating Connecticut state gambling laws.  

“A customer such as plaintiff does not have the ability to collect actual cash as a result of ‘winning’ games, but he does have the ability to win and therefore acquire more playing time,” explains the Apple class action lawsuit. “Connecticut’s gambling statutes make it clear that paying money in a game for a chance to win more playing time constitutes illegal gambling.” 

The plaintiff points out that Apple profits from the proliferation of illegal gambling apps, garnering up to 30 percent of the revenue generated from apps sold in the Apple App Store.  

Apple could restrict the use of casino-style gaming apps that are illegal in Connecticut and other states with strong anti-gambling laws, points out the class action lawsuit. In fact, the tech company does so for gambling apps in which users can win real money, says Workman.  

This class action is the one in a series of suits targeting Apple, as well as tech giant Google, of hosting illegal gaming apps on their platforms. Workman sought to represent other Connecticut residents who downloaded, played, and paid money for a casino-style gambling app from the Apple App Store. 

Top Class Actions will continue to monitor this and similar actions as the case proceeds.  

Have you played a gambling app from the Apple App Store? We want to hear from you! Tell us about your experience in the comment section below! 

The plaintiff is represented by Paul M. Geraghty, Geraghty & Bonnano, LLC. 

The Apple Gambling App Class Action Lawsuit is Workman v. Apple Inc., Case No. 5:21-cv-05650 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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