Litigation

Judge lets suit continue vs casino tech biz Scientific Games over patent fraud, antitrust claims

Litigation

A federal judge has denied a request made by Scientific Games Corporation and its subsidiary Bally Technologies Inc. and Bally Gaming Inc. to fold up the sole remaining count in a competitor’s antitrust lawsuit over casino card shuffling technology.

U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly handed down the opinion on Sept. 1,2017 holding the plaintiffs provided sufficient evidence that Las Vegas-based Scientific Games may have acted fraudulently.

Scientific Games is accused by rival Shuffle Tech International LLC and its subsidiaries, Aces Up Gaming Inc. and Poydras-Talrick LLC, of misusing patents for an automatic card shuffling device to stifle competition

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Stop Predatory Gambling amicus brief in Supreme Court case Murphy vs NCAA

Lawsuits, Legal Opinion, Litigation, Sports Betting

To help the Supreme Court better understand the stakes of this critical case, Stop Predatory Gambling assembled a broad and diverse coalition to file an amicus brief demonstrating the law’s constitutionality and highlighting how state-sanctioned gambling has been a spectacular failure. The brief explains how state-sanctioned gambling uses unfair and deceptive marketing practices to target and prey on the financially desperate and the addicted; reduces opportunity for millions of American families to improve their economic standing; and forces even those citizens who rarely or never gamble to foot the bill for the enormous social costs and state budget problems it leaves behind.

There are several co-signers that joined with Stop Predatory Gambling. They include national advocacy groups that focus on issues ranging from economic justice to public health, such as The Center for Popular Democracy, United for a Fair Economy and The Public Health Advocacy Institute, along with some of the nation’s largest and most prominent Christian and Muslim religious groups.

DOWNLOAD THE BRIEF: 2017 SUBMITTED BRIEF 16-476, -477 bsac SPG

KY Supreme Court rules in Instant Racing case

Legal Opinion, Litigation, Other Forms of Gambling

In a unanimous opinion, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has the legal authority to regulate wagers on previously run horse races presented on electronic gambling machines, called “instant racing machines” — but that the legality of the wagers themselves has yet to be established. These machines are similar to slots in a regular casino, but are often found at race tracks. The court said the case must go back to Franklin Circuit Court, where it originated, to determine whether this is a legal form of gambling. Below is a copy of the majority opinion in the case.

KY Opinion Affirming and Reversing Instant Racing Machines

In addition, below is a copy of the oral arguments in the case. Both pieces are great to read if you want to learn more about Instant Racing Machines.

KY Instant Racing Machine Oral Argument

The issue of dischargeability of gambling debt grows in severity

Litigation, Lotteries, Lowering the Standard of Living for Ordinary Citizens, Online Gambling, Regional Casinos, Sports Betting, Studies

With the increasing pervasiveness of government-sponsored gambling, the issue of the dischargeability of gambling debt has become very significant. The attached report by two U.S. Trustees of Indiana highlights several major problems including how one research group suggests that about 10 percent of bankruptcy filings are linked to gambling losses, 20 percent or more of compulsive gamblers are forced to file bankruptcy because of their losses, and upwards of 90 percent of compulsive gamblers use their credit cards to gamble.

GAMBLING ON DISCHARGEABILITY: Casino debt collection practices

Poulos v. Caesars World: A Battle over Corrupt Business Practices

Lawsuits, Litigation, Predatory Business Practices, Regional Casinos, Uncategorized

This article details the court case Poulos v. Caesars World, where Caesars World, a casino corporation, was sued for “a course of fraudulent and misleading acts and omissions intended to induce people to play their video poker and electronic slot machines based on a false belief concerning how those machines actually operate, as well as the extent to which there is actually an opportunity to win on any given play”. This legal battle of the business practices of Caesars World casinos shows the extent to which players can be swindled into losing large sums of money on games that are deigned for them to lose.

Poulos v. Caesars World, Inc.

A Look at Lawsuits Against the Predatory Gambling Business

Litigation, Uncategorized

In this 2004 Mercer Law Review article, Professor John Kindt details the extraordinary methods of predatory gambling operators (and their allies) to hide harmful, and potentially illegal, business practices. Kindt states that “insiders” from the industry need to come forward so the public can truly understand what goes on.

“The Insiders” for Gambling Lawsuits

Exposing the Truth About the Predatory Gambling Business Through the Judicial System

Litigation

Professor John Kindt suggests that subpoenaing predatory gambling operators could reveal the truth behind the business, since “the historical record indicates that decriminalized organized gambling activities invariably lead to new addicted gamblers, new bankruptcies, and new crime and corruption.”

Subpoenaing Information from the Gambling Industry

Tobacco-Style Lawsuits Against the Predatory Gambling Trade

Litigation

Professor John Kindt explores the idea of states bringing lawsuits against predatory gambling operators, a strategy that worked over time with the tobacco companies. Kindt writes: “Owing to costs created by new addicted gamblers, bankruptcies, and crime once gambling is legalized, some have argued that gambling establishments should be held liable for the costs they place on society.”

The Costs of Addicted Gamblers – Should the States Initiate Mega-Lawsuits Similar to the Tobacco Cases?

Piercey Estate v. Atlantic Lotto Corporation

Fraud, Lawsuits, Litigation, Lotteries, Regional Casinos

In the 2008 Canadian Supreme Court Case, Piercey Estate v. Atlantic Lotto Corporation, Inc., the plaintiffs argued that video lottery terminals (VLT’s, or video slot machines) are designed to be “inherently deceptive, inherently addictive, and inherently dangerous, when used as intended, without any information or warning.” The plaintiffs’ daughter in this case, Susan Piercey, “lost her life due to the deceptions designed into VLT games, which led to addiction and suicide.” They made the case that the Atlantic Lotto Corporation (ALC) violated the Trade Practices Act, which had originally been put in place to protect consumers from unfair trade practices. The plaintiffs went on to say that “in modern government, government through agencies and corporations are interfering more and more with the consumer and, as such, it makes sense to have the governments responsible for their own actions or actions of its agents.” The justice presiding over this case, however, determined that because the ALC is an agent of the Canadian government, they are not bound by the restrictions of the Trade Practices Act.

Below is the decision of the case and a press release from the attorneys representing the Piercey estate.

Piercey Estate v. Atlantic Lotto Corporation

Press Release – Piercey Estate v. Atlantic Lotto Corporation

Hoffman v. Sandia Resort & Casino, NM

Lawsuits, Litigation, Native American Casinos, Regional Casinos

On October 6, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the New Mexico Court of Appeals decision in Hoffman v. Sandia Resort & Casino. The case involves a New Mexico man who reportedly won $1.6 million dollars at one of the casino’s slot machines. However, the Sandia Pueblo tribe, which owns the casino, informed Hoffman that the payout would not be made because the slot machine had malfunctioned. Arguing before courts in New Mexico, the tribe claimed Hoffman had no legal recourse because of the tribe’s sovereign immunity. Courts in New Mexico supported the tribe’s position and concluded that tribal immunity can only be waived “for purposes of providing a remedy to casino patrons who suffer physical injury to their persons or property.” These decisions seem to suggest that there is no legal remedy for casino patrons who have suffered financial injury because of wrongdoing at tribal casinos.

Please read the opinion of the New Mexico Court of Appeals below.

Hoffman vs. Sandia Resort and Casino