A jury has rendered a landmark verdict against an online “social casino,” determining that High 5 Games is liable to pay 24.9 million dollars in damages to a group of gamblers from Washington state who incurred financial losses. The jury concluded that the class and the named plaintiff lost nearly 18 million dollars and awarded an additional 7 million in statutory damages.

This ruling follows a previous court decision that classified High 5’s so-called “social casino” games as illegal gambling under Washington state law. Social casinos provide slot machine games through mobile applications and websites, enticing consumers to spend real money on digital chips. The social casino sector has seen consumers lose billions of dollars, contributing to widespread gambling addiction.

This verdict marks a significant milestone in the prolonged effort by consumers, represented by Edelson and Tousley Brain Stephens, to hold social casino operators accountable for their business practices, which are essentially illegal gambling operations targeting vulnerable individuals struggling with addiction. Evidence presented during the trial indicated that High 5’s employees intentionally focused on users referred to as “whales”, Washington residents who were heavily addicted to gambling away significant sums in High 5’s social casino games.

In one notable case, a user who informed High 5 of her addiction and requested to have her account deactivated was instead enticed back with offers of “free” coins to continue playing. Many individuals within the class suffered losses amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars, with at least one individual losing over a million dollars.

Several social casino operators have opted to reach settlements before trial in earlier lawsuits initiated by Edelson and Tousley, collectively disbursing over 650 million dollars to individuals who incurred losses while participating in their games. In June 2023, a judge approved a 415 million dollar class-action settlement that addressed allegations against online gaming companies DoubleDown Interactive and International Game Technology for breaching Washington state gambling regulations and consumer protection laws. Presiding in Seattle federal court, U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik characterized the settlement as “fair, reasonable, and adequate.”

The next phase in this ongoing conflict pertains to Big Tech’s involvement in deriving profits from these illegal gambling activities. Edelson has been acting as lead counsel in multi-district litigations against Amazon, Meta, Google, and Apple. These technology companies are accused of functioning as “bookies,” facilitating transactions between consumers and casinos while retaining an astonishing thirty percent of every dollar wagered in these illicit casino games.