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A Maryland woman has filed a class action lawsuit against app maker Machine Zone, Inc., alleging that its Game of War app is a de facto game-of-chance, or casino, which is illegal.
Plaintiff Mia Mason claims that she purchased Game of War in early 2014 onto her smartphone. By January 2015, she had already “lost more than $100” playing the game.
Game of War is free on Android and Apple iOS devices. Players “create virtual towns and armies, and battle other Game of War players” to play.
When players first download the game, it comes with complimentary chips. When these chips run out, players must purchase virtual gold beginning at $4.99 for 1,200 gold pieces.
“While players can use Gold to improve their virtual towns and hasten their advancement in the game, these benign uses of Gold merely obfuscate the unlawful game of chance Machine Zone operates within Game of War,” the Game of War class action lawsuit states.
“In this game of chance — appropriately named the ‘Casino’ — players routinely wager hundreds of dollars for the chance of winning valuable prizes,” it explains.
“Players that win the most valuable prizes can then ‘cash out’ by listing their Game of War accounts on the secondary market, with the cash value of accounts rising commensurate with the value of awarded prizes. Game of War accounts listed at online auction sites regularly sell for hundreds of dollars,” it adds.
According to the class action lawsuit, Machine Zone has made more than $600 million since early 2014 by selling gold and chips within the game.
“Once consumers purchase Gold, they are able to buy ‘Chips’ at the game’s ‘Casino,'” Mason explains. “Defendant’s aptly named Casino, though, is nothing more than an illegal game of chance camouflaged as a benign videogame.”
And she alleges that it functions no differently than a slot machine in a traditional casino.
“Similar to traditional spinning wheels found in casinos, consumers do not have any ability to control what prizes Defendant awards upon a spin,” the Game of War class action lawsuit claims.
“After pressing the button to spin the wheel, Defendant does not accept any input or action until it awards the prize — no skill on the part of the consumer affects the outcome of a spin,” the class action states.
“The outcome of a spin depends entirely on the rules Defendant has programmed into the Game of War Casino,” it adds.
Mason explains in the class action lawsuit that there has been a “proliferation of internet-connected mobile devices as led to the growth of so-called ‘free-to-play’ videogames.
However, these free-to-play games come with a catch, as many developers encourage consumers to download and play games for free while selling many low-cost items within the game itself.”
Such free-to-play games earned developers $1.6 billion in 2012.
“With free-to-play games of chance, developers have begun exploiting the same psychological triggers as casino operators,” the Game of War class action lawsuit says.
“Just as with casino operators, free-to-play developers rely on a small portion of their players to provide the majority of their profits. These ‘whales,’ as they’re known in casino parlance, account for just ‘0.15 percent of players’ but provide ‘over 50 percent of mobile game revenue,'” Mason explains.
“Unfortunately, such games have eluded regulation in the United States.”
Mason is looking to represent a Maryland class and a nationwide class of individuals “who purchased chips from defendant and lost the chips by wagering at defendant’s Game of War Casino.”
The Game of War class action lawsuit alleges violations of California law regarding slot machines, of California’s unfair competition law, unjust enrichment, and the Maryland Loss Recovery Statute.
She is asking for damages, in the amount that any customers have paid playing Game of War and injunctive relief.
The plaintiff is represented by Maria C. Simon of The Geller Law Group and by Rafey S. Balabanian, Benjamin H. Richman and Amir C. Missaghi of Edelson PC.
The Game of War Illegal Gambling Class Action Lawsuit is Mia Mason v. Machine Zone, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
UPDATE: The Game of War Illegal Gambling Class Action Lawsuit was dismissed by the court on October 21, 2015. The plaintiff then appealed the dismissal. The appeals court affirmed the original ruling on April 10, 2017.
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92 thoughts onClass Action: Game of War is an Unlawful Casino Game
Based on the reviews I read so far, this game is worse then drugs. I used to be addicted to celtic heroes and spent hundreds on it also. At one point i just stopped. The fien to play is worse then trying to quit ciggerettes. I really wish this lawsuit goes through and they force these games to stop the bs. Getting into console mmo will help stop the spending also
All of you are stupid it was your choice to spend money no one held a gun to your head. stop acting like little school girls waaaaa i lost money BOO HOO
I highly doubt that Apple will reimburse everyone that has spent over $1k?. I most definitely support the class action lawsuit against MZ.
I hearby acknowledge my participation to retrieve monetary and vested time equity in MZ’S premature Game of War lock out disclaimer associated with my accounts.
in continuation..i have basically now paid for a game I cannot play…that’s like buying a car and 2 months later you get new terms to drive the car you paid for…can only drive the car if you wear red, and don’t ever drive over 25mph, never make a right hand turn…sound crazy? yes, but its the same concept. mz is trying to protect themselves by placing ridiculous restrictions on their players. at this point, for me, a class action suit is a must. heck, I don’t even mind preparing a suit on my own. I am completely prepared to stick up for my rights and be respected. I will not be taken advantage of. it is bad enough that the ones paying out all of the money are the ones not getting anything in the game worthy of moving forward. they take our money and the ones not paying end up getting the usable and worthwhile items. trying to be robinhood??? wtf…yes, this is America, I will practice my freedom of speech. I will call a crook a crook.
let me start by saying that those of us that put money into the game do NOT have a problem. everyone has their own hobbies and thing they spend their money on. not everyone is the same. I have thousands of dollars in other games that I have absolutely no complaints about. I get what I pay for and I can play the games. no hidden agendas in their terms that I had to accept. I have $27,300.00 + in game of war. it is ridiculous to me that it has become such a game of chance and luck of the draw. I have bought 5000 chests and still have not gotten a black fireball or a turquoise fireball. took $3000.00 to finally be able to combine 1 (one) level 6 gold flake. no, those are not typos. I have spent thousands upon thousands of dollars buying misleading packs for items I would never receive…then the game takes an even bigger turn for the worse…lagging, crashing, not loading, etc. causing me to lose troops and not complete infernos, basically losing all the money I put in. after numerous complaints (and no real response to solve the issue) what I get is a new set of terms and conditions. clearly violating my constitutional rights…freedom of speech. they want me to forfeit all of my legal rights, NO WAY! I refuse the terms, therefore getting zeroed out. the end result…robbed.
I have spent a little over $3,000 still a little guy lol. They have materials you cannot use, e.g. ( pink fire ball) i mailed them about it they said its for new gear yet to come. So why sell it with out telling us? And where is this new gear? Because they have came out with new packs with same garbage without having gear for that material. They have serious lag issues or they woukdnt have asked what device, internet,ect i was using, then saying they fixed the issue… they didnt. Also they have made it to where you have to be a pay to play player or you cant actually move forward. Those who say they dont spend, do no not know they will be zeroed first hit, shield every kvk ke, or beg for rss from us who spend. Their research is crazy, keep on adding which negates one or the other, def, def debuff, def debuff resist and so on. The biggest problem is they do not give you a choice to log back on unless you agree to their new terms when there were none to begin with. If you dont agree you cant log back in. So are they saying that its legal to take my investment away because i dont agree to their new terms when i never agreed in the beginning? I have mailed them 3 times in the course of 4 days and not one reply. So now i have no choice but take legal action. I want a refund plain and simple. Count me in.
You can definitely count me in. I’ve spent (invested) about $7500 on this game to max out my hero to level 50, and max out my VIP; all to have MZ increase more levels in everything! I most definitely support the class action lawsuit against MZ.
I am also a level 21 with much troops, absolutely no money and yet a top player.
I have gotten 80k gold without spending a dime. Farmed gold tiles, placed in events. Its your choice if you want to spend or not idiots lol
So after spending $17,092.95 which i wasnt sure of the amount to be honest until I called google and they gave me the figures. I cant log my account until I agree to the new terms. Which I can justify doing! So now I have spent a large sum of money. And I know I am not the only one. So to act as if this is crazy so be it. It is very addicting! I want in on this and I want a refund on my money!!!!!!!