Apple faced with class-action lawsuit for App Store free casino games

Added: February 22, 2021

Apple has been faced with yet another lawsuit as a class-action lawsuit has been filed against it over the presence of “free-to-play” casino-style apps in the App Store.

A lot of such casino-type games on the App Store are developed by Zynga, and despite them being free to download and play, they do offer payed purchases in the app itself. This micro transaction feature is considered to be a violation of many gambling statutes across multiple states in the United States. The lawsuit was officially filed in the District of Columbia, however 25 states were mentioned in the case.

This lawsuit details Apple’s involvement in this issue, as well as stating just how they are the culprits. Even though Zynga develops the apps, the electronics giant is the one who provides iOS development tools, as well as a space in their App Store for said games. This ultimately leads to them making profit off of the apps. Them generating revenue from this means that they are culprits in this case, since they are the ones giving a chance for such unlicensed casinos to be displayed on their store.

How these apps work is that new players are always offered a set of chips to start their gaming. But once they use all the chips and are left with none, they have to pay to buy more. And players can’t technically withdraw any money that they won, so they are actually just spending money for no real prizes.

Aside form that, many rules and regulations that are present in well-regulated casinos are completely absent from these free-to-play casino apps and games. This is definitely a violation and a massive problem that should garner more attention to ensure players’ safety.

Apple Store, iOS, Zynga