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Game Show Network LLC, a video game development company, was hit with a class action lawsuit earlier this week accusing it of violating Washington law by operating online gambling games.
Plaintiff Elise Bell filed the GSN class action lawsuit Wednesday in Washington federal court.
She claims GSN’s Casino game, which allows consumers to play slot machines on Apple iOS devices, Android devices and Facebook, constitutes illegal gambling and has allowed GSN to illegally profit from tens of thousands of consumers.
“Defendant provides a bundle of free ‘tokens’ to first-time visitors of its online casinos that can be used to wager on its games,” Bell says in the GSN Casino class action lawsuit. “After consumers inevitably lose their initial allotment of tokens, GSN attempts to sell them additional tokens starting at $1.99 for 180,000 tokens. Without tokens, consumers cannot play GSN’s gambling games.”
By playing GSN Casino, consumers wager to win more tokens, which they would otherwise would have to pay for. Players cannot continue to play the GSN Casino game after they run out of free tokens, the GSN class action lawsuit says.
Bell claims that internet-connected mobile devices have led to the growth of “free-to-play” video games, through which consumers can download games for free. However, the game developers are able to reap significant profits by selling “in app” items available for purchase.
According to the GSN class action lawsuit, these in-app purchases have been especially attractive to developers of games of chance because they are able to generate massive profits. Bell says these games of chance have generated more than $3.8 billion in revenue in 2017, and that profits are expected to grow by 10 percent annually.
Bell says these free-to-play games of chance exploit the same psychological triggers that casino operators exploit in order to maximize their profits. Like casinos, the game developers rely on a small group of players to provide the bulk of their profits.
“These ‘whales,’ as they’re known in casino parlance, account for just ‘0.15% of players’ but provide ‘over 50% of mobile game revenue,’” Bell alleges in the casino game class action lawsuit.
The GSN class action lawsuit says that consumers who download the GSN Casino app on their smartphones or tablets or who play the game via Facebook do not create an account with GSN. Nor do they agree to any terms of service before playing the GSN Casino game, Bell says.
According to the GSN Casino class action lawsuit, Bell began playing GSN Casino on Facebook in 2016 and lost more than $700 playing its games of chance.
Bell filed the GSN class action lawsuit on behalf of herself and a proposed Class of consumers in Washington who purchased and lost tokens at GSN’s online casino games.
The GSN Casino class action lawsuit asserts claims for violations of the Washington Consumer Protection Act and unjust enrichment.
Bell is represented by Janissa A. Strabuk, Cecily C. Shiel of Tousley Brain Stephens PLLC; and by Benjamin H. Richman, Rafey Balabanian, Eve-Lynn Rapp, and Todd Logan of Edelson PC
The GSN Casino Online Gambling Class Action Lawsuit is Elise Bell v. Game Show Network LLC, Case No. 3:18-cv-05393, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Tacoma.
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335 thoughts onGSN Casino Games are Online Illegal Gambling, Class Action Says
i lost over 1200+, but im not in washington, im in florida… Can i apply for this suit, this applies to me as well..i used credit cards and my phone bill accounts for payments, i have all receipts that i paid for these tokens, to save up for a cruise, what i paid, i could have bought a cruise on my own. they kept taking money out of my account as well.
I have these games too, I do enjoy playing’ games like that but,
I do not like being lead around by the ba**s to buy more chips,
that pi**es me off big time
Please sign me up because I am a victim in this case.
The case is still moving through the courts and has not yet reached a settlement. Claim forms are usually not made available to consumers until after a court approved settlement is reached. Setting up a free account with Top Class Actions will allow you to receive instant updates on ANY article that you ‘Follow’ on our website. A link to creating an account may be found here: https://topclassactions.com/signup/. You can then ‘Follow’ the article above, and get notified immediately when we post updates!
please sign me up – thank you!
Please sign me up
Add me.. I’m probably a couple thousand deep :(
I spent a fortune on playing these games
I spent hundred dollars, with this online GSN casino, buying games coins packages, especially from 2006, until 2016, yes! Please sign me up for this class action lawsuit, I play on my tablet and phones.
add me
Please add me. This has happened to me and I unknowingly bought token. Very misleading.