Just last week, the guy who dismissed his lawsuit accusing Apple and Google of making money off of the purportedly unlawful gambling on sweepstakes websites such as McLuck and High 5 Casino has re-filed it, albeit with some changes.
First off, Lamar Prater and Rebecca Pratt, two New York-based co-plaintiffs, have joined plaintiff Julian Bargo. According to each individual, they lost money while playing at Chumba Casino, Luckyland, and High 5 Casino.
Furthermore, no sweeps operators are named in the class action case, which was filed in the New Jersey District Court and exclusively targets Google, Apple, and their respective payment verticals.
The lawsuit claimed that “an unlawful enterprise, which includes two of the most successful companies in the world, is distributing patently illegal gambling software to the cell phones, desktop computers, and other personal electronic devices of individuals throughout New Jersey, New York, and beyond.”
Once more, the lawsuit accuses the internet giants of being complicit in the promotion of these sweepstakes websites and profiting from them through their function as payment processors under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
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“Apple and Google give the Sweepstakes Casinos the business tools and resources they need to succeed as much as possible in the App Store and Play Store, respectively.
The complaint argued that the Defendants, for instance, counsel the Sweepstakes Casinos through the app launch process, provide targeted advertising to promote the apps across their respective platforms, and review the apps that the Casinos submit for review.
The Defendants then have the opportunity to determine whether the apps comply with state and federal law.
In addition to the RICO claims, the lawsuit alleges violations of the New Jersey state gaming code, false advertising, unjust enrichment, and New York commercial statutes.
The plaintiffs contend that the dual-currency concept is a ploy to allow users to play real-money casino games and that these sweepstakes websites are functioning as online casinos.
Additionally, they claim that these websites were examined and approved by the companies before to being included to their respective app stores, in accordance with the review procedures in place at Google and Apple.
These businesses also earn from processing payments and take advertising from the websites.
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