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Australia sued Aristocrat for ‘illegal’ social casino games
In its native Australia, the well-known slots company Aristocrat Leisure is being sued in a class-action suit alleging that Pixel United, its online division, is providing unlawful gaming.
The lawsuit was filed in Australia’s Federal Court and accuses Pixel of promoting its social casino apps unlawfully. Just like Facebook, Apple or Android, these apps, found among others under Big Fish, are imitating different gambling activities by using an in-game currency for their bets (“free chips”).
However, if a person runs out of these chips at some point during such gaming sessions; she/he has no option other than purchasing more with her/his own cash. This scenario gets even more intricate when we mention that Aristocrat took control over these businesses during the 2010s expecting an increment in societal networks’ sizes.
According to the lawsuit, social casinos run by Aristocrat should follow the same rules just like land-based casinos offering real cash slot machines in Australia.
Aristocrat’s attorneys insist this Australian gaming company does not offer illegal interactive gambling services through its social casino apps. Users can deactivate or close their accounts at any time, and there is an option for turning off in-app purchases as well.
A spokesperson told The Australian Financial Review:
“These games do not meet the definition of gambling service under the [law]. Aristocrat companies take proactive steps to provide more information, choice, and support to players of their social casino apps, over and above any legal requirements.”
A class-action lawsuit was filed by former Big Fish players in Washington State in 2021, which was settled with Aristocrat and Churchill Downs, former owners of Big Fish, for $155 million.
This followed a 2018 federal court ruling in Seattle that found the virtual chips used in the games had “something of value” despite lacking actual money. The judgment meant Washington State could treat Big Fish games as online gambling since for purposes of its laws the latter include.
Washington state is the only state in the US to have determined that virtual chips constitute “something of value.
Speaking to the AFR, Aristocrat said it would vigorously defend itself and stressed out that its social casino games are played strictly for fun.
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