Popular game developers SpinX Games, Grande Games, and Beijing Bole Technology has decided to resolve claims of violating Washington law with gambling apps through a $3.5 million settlement. The terms of the settlement will benefit Washington residents who played games like Vegas Friends, Lotsa Slots, Jackpot World, Jackpot Mania, Cash Frenzy, DAFU, Jackpot Crush, Jackpot Fever, and Cash Bash before 31st January 2022.
Settlement Website: GrandeGamesSettlement.com
Objection Deadline: 10/17/2022
Exclusion Deadline: 10/17/2022
Claim Form: https://secure.grandegamessettlement.com/
Deadline For Submitting Claim Form: 01/02/2023
Final Hearing Date: 11/10/2022
Settlement Amount: $3.5 million
Potential Claim Amount: Variable
Proof Of Purchase: Email addresses and player IDs associated with the game accounts.
Consumers can play casino games like poker, slots, blackjack, and more with the gambling apps included in the class. However, these apps have been charged for causing addiction among the player. NBC interviewed a couple in 2020 who reportedly spent a whopping $150000 by gambling within just two years.
Some consumers have taken legal action against casino games by stating they breached state laws against gambling. A Washington player filed a class action lawsuit in September 2020 against Grande Games alleging the company’s applications breached Washington gambling laws. Later on, Beijing Bole Technology and SpinX Games were added by the plaintiff to his class action lawsuit.
As per the lawsuit, the game developers created gambling games that would encourage players to bet real money for increasing their winning bounty. The applications allegedly allow players to buy in-game currency by using real money. Since Washington laws prohibit gambling, these applications violated the same. The class action lawsuit contends that the players are now eligible to recover their losses under Washington’s Recovery of Money Lost at Gambling Act.
The defendants have agreed to pay $3.5 million to resolve the claims concerning illegal gambling allegations though they haven’t admitted any wrongdoing. Under the settlement terms, class members will be eligible for a cash payment depending on the amount spent by them on the gambling applications. Thus, class members who spent a higher amount will be eligible for a higher share of the settlement fund.
The payment will also depend on whether the class members were covered by the arbitration provisions on some of the defendants’ apps starting from 2021. Class members can check their payment estimates in the future through a pending payment estimation tool present on the settlement website.
Other than funding the cash payments, the defendants have agreed to provide self-service resources and implement in-game mechanics to address various video game behavior disorders in their apps. This is expected to provide voluntary self-exclusion from in-app resources and implement in-game mechanics to prevent unnecessary spending while ensuring that players running out of sufficient virtual coins can continue playing the games without an unreasonably long waiting period. Such measures will be undertaken with the aim to stop excessive spending because of gaming addiction.