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Double Down Interactive LLC was hit with a class action lawsuit by an Illinois woman for allegedly operating an unlawful quasi-casino with “camouflaged” gambling with its Double Down Casino apps.
Plaintiff Margo Phillips claims in the unlawful gambling class action lawsuit filed in an Illinois state court on April 10 that Double Down is operating unlawful gambling devices.
Customers download Double Down Casino onto their computers via Facebook, their Android or Apple iOS devices, in which customers can play slot machines games, roulette, black jack and other casino games.
When customers first download Double Down, they are given a bunch of virtual chips for free to use to play on the various games. After those chips are lost, customers may then buy more chips, which start at $2.99 for 150,000 chips. Customers are able to then “win millions of additional chips that they would otherwise have to purchase.”
However, players are also able to “cash out” their chips, by selling their accounts on a secondary market.
Phillips explains that Double Down Casino is an example of a “free-to-play” videogame that has become common with “the proliferation of internet-connected mobile devices.”
According to the Double Down Casino class action lawsuit, “in 2012, free-to-play games of chance generated over $1.6 billion in worldwide revenue and are expected to grow to over $2.4 billion by the end of 2015.”
As a result, “with free-to-play games of chance, developers have begun exploiting the same psychological triggers as casino operators.”
Phillips cites gaming experts, who explain that the game makers only need a very small percentage of their customers to pay for the virtual currency to be profitable.
The Illinois woman also cites researchers who have “found that [free-to-play] casino gamers share many similar sociodemographic characteristics (e.g. employment, education, income) with online gamblers.”
The researchers also found that playing free-to-play games lead players to eventually opt for online gambling.
“The similarity between free-to play games of chance and games of chance found in casinos has led governments across the world to intervene to limit their availability,” the Double Down Casino class action lawsuit explains.
“Unfortunately, such games have eluded regulation in the United States. As a result . . . defendant’s Double Down Casino has thrived, and thousands of consumers have lost millions of dollars unwittingly playing defendant’s unlawful game of chance,” the unlawful gambling class action lawsuit adds.
“Double Down Casino has been immensely profitable. In 2014, defendant saw revenues of over $240 million from the sales of online chips in its videogames,” Phillips says in the unlawful gambling class action lawsuit.
“However . . . defendant’s Double Down Casino games are nothing more than camouflaged unlawful games of chance,” she explains.
Phillips claims that after she purchased Double Down Casino, she bet and lost more than $1,000 from January 2013 through 2015.
She is seeing to represent a class of Illinois residents “who lost $50 or more to defendant through Double Down Casino.”
The Illinois woman is charging Double Down Interactive with violating the Illinois Loss Recovery Statute and unjust enrichment.
The unlawful gambling class action lawsuit is asking that Double Down pay “the amount of losses suffered by Plaintiff Phillips and each member of the class.”
A similar class action lawsuit was filed on April 10 against Sky Union, LLC, makers of the virtual game Castle Clash, in which players must pay additional money to purchase “gems” in order to make progress in the game. Plaintiffs Jose Soto, Christine Exelby and Tanner Eastman all allege that Castle Clash is also an unlawful game of chance.
The plaintiff is represented by Rafey S. Balabanian, Benjamin H. Richman, Amir C. Missaghi, Courtney C. Booth of Edelson PC.
The Double Down Casino Unlawful Gambling Class Action Lawsuit is Margo Phillips v. Double Down Interactive LLC, Case No. 2015CH06068, in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois County Department, Chancery Division.
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46 thoughts onClass Action: Double Down Casino Is Unlawful Gambling
ONE MORE THING – IF I WERE A RICH PERSON WITH A BIG NAME – HEADLINES CNN ABC CBS FOX NBC WOULD BE ALL OVER THIS STORY. I AM HUMAN AND I HAVE A VOICE AND WANT TO BE HEARD ALL OVER THE WORLD. THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN TO ANYBODY EVER ON THE FACE OF THIS NATION. GOD IS A JUST GOD AND SOMEBODY WILL PAY FOR THIS CRUELTY ACT ON SENIOR CITIZENS.
I PRINTED EVERYTHING OFF JUST IN CASE THEY WOULD TRY AND DENY THAT THEY MISLEAD PEOPLE. THEY SET OUT TO DECIEVE PEOPLE WITH THIS FRAUDLENT ACT. THIS IS A JOB FOR DOJ, LORETTA LYNCH. THIS IS BIG.
To: jasminemayo
Subject: DOUBLEDOWN CASINO FAKE ADVERTISEMET – ALL CASINO FAKE ADVERTISEMENT
Size: 11 KB
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THIS IS THE TRICKS THAT DOUBLEDOWN CASINO WOULD PULLED ON CUSTOMERS. I AM ASHAMED AND STILL SUFFERING WITH FALLING FOR SOMETHING THAT WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE TRUE AND COULD NOT STOP PLAYING UNTIL ALL MY REAL MONEY LEFT BOTH MY CHECKING ACCOUNT. i AM SO MAD AT MYSELF FOR GETTING INVOLVED WITH THIS MESS.
At one point, I really thought that I was playing for .99cents, $3.00 etc…The games put me in some kind of trance I kept trying to get chips back to give them so they would make a deal with me and give me all my money back This is what I saw when I would check that fake money account:
Info GOING BACK ON APPX 17:35PM….12/25/12
Cash holdings:
$400,994,220
Winnings:
Total Winnings $192,981,220.00
Blackjack $0.00
Roulette $0.00
Video Poker $0.00
Poker $192,490,824.00
Bingo $0.00
Slots $30,770.00
Level
LEVEL
11VIP8821 / 11000
Thank you,
Jasmine Mayo
EMAIL=jazze007@windstream.net. Please email me if you like to talk. Thanks – Jasmine Mayo
The more I think about what happen to some of us with DoubleDown Casino is downright dirty, evil, and low down to set up a friendly game and give out FREE Chips and they in turn charged people real money to buy FREE Chips. That’s something wrong with that period. I fell right into that trap and somebody needs to pay and give me all my REAL CASH MONEY BACK INTO BOTH OF MY ACCOUNTS. I’ve lost those 2 Checking accounts. I worked all my life and I have people out here that I need to pay back. I’ve ruined my good name and thank the Lord that some of my friends understand. I am so mad right now at this moment and sitting here crying about what they did to me and others. God will see this through!
I fell into that same trap when I went into a depression that Thanksgiving in 2012. Tried writing to:
consumer-civilfax@ago.state.al.us
CC jazze007@windstream.net Mar 14, 2013
I have a complaint against DoubleDown Casino through Facebook. About three
months ago I went into a deep depression. Thanksgiving I was all alone, and
fought my way through that. December 2012, rolls in, and I started to pay
attention to Casinos, FREE CHIPS..ON Facebook..I said let me try and get my mind
off my pain, and at least I can have a little fun at home and I don’t need
money..The next thing I was doing was paying real cash for FREE-CHIPS..The
Casinos through Facebook
don’t tell you anything about CASH, until you run out of your FREE-CHIPS..That’s
fake/false advertisement…The next thing I knew I was in deep trouble with my 2
checking account. I got caught up with gambling through Facebook, and I felt
that was an ambushed for me bc of my illness. I wrote DoubleDown Casino and Mark
Zuckerberg/Rachel Maddow of MSNBC..trying to get them to send all my monies
back…I did hear from DoubleDown Casino, saying they couldn’t help me…..You
get hooked on this mess and nobody cares..They make sure you lose your FREE
CHIPS SO YOU CAN BUY, BUY, AND SPEND YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY…IT’S NOT AN EVEN
PLAYING FIELD…ALL THE CASINOS ARE IN IT TO MAKE MONEY, AND GET YOU HOOKED WITH
GIVING YOU T FREE CHIPS TO PLAY WITH..IN THE MEANWHILE YOU ARE ABOUT TO COMMIT SUCICIDE. I FOUND GOD.
I’ve lost more than that. Yes, it’s a game but it’s addictive. The insane part is that they have tournamen’s that cost 100 million chips or 100 real dollars to play. Games like this give you a high when you win. That’s the addiction. They tightened the payouts and people keep spending more and more trying to achieve that high. Meanwhile, they are raking in a fortune on the backs of gambling addicts. This needs to be stopped. It’s a casino period
IIsa, I think by them using the term real cash instead of chips tend to fool the mind that we are going to hit it real big. The high that you feel from playing these games is crazy. Now I get it when the real drug addict come off that high it is addicting and you go into this feeling like I can take on the world Good luck to you. God will hear the plea.
I also played and losted a lot of money too I dont even play anymore
I too have lost well over $1000.00. How can I get this back. They get you hooked with the free chips and then you run out . If you want to play more then you have to purchase their chips. I am 65 years old and am disabled and I am home alone most of the day. I have nothing but my computer for enjoyment. I did not realize how much I was spending until my daughter showed me on my bank statement. I almost lost everything I had because of it… I also live on a fixed income… I wish I would have been smarter than to fall into their scheme of things…
You SHOULD have been smarter. You and a lot of people like you fail to realize important things like; eating is more important than a game, there are plenty of fish in the sea and the best one, its just a game.
OK. Ms perfect, smarter has nothing to do with this. Everybody is not like you. I learned a hard lesson when I almost lost everything I worked so hard for. If Jesus can forgive me and those who come to Him we will all be forgiven.
Vicky, the same thing happen to me. just not right to do this to anybody. I started working when I was ten years old, and love working and having my own paycheck. I hope somebody hear our plea. I know GOD hears us. Good luck. Bama chick.