Amazon sued over social casino apps

A class action complaint has been launched over Amazon’s offering of free-to-play games.

US.- A class-action lawsuit has been launched against Amazon accusing the online retail giant of profiting from free-to-play social casino games. The games in question do not offer real-money prizes, but allow players to purchase virtual chips.

The lawsuit claims that social casino games are “highly addictive” and “extraordinarily profitable”. It claims that Amazon is aware of the games’ controversial status but allows them to be downloaded. It wants Amazon to stop allowing social casino games and to return any money “illegally” gained to consumers.

The complaint names 34 social casino brands, including Big Fish Casino, Jackpot Party, Monopoly Slots, Lotsa Slots, Black Diamond Casino and Quick Hit Slots. It estimates that $6bn was bet on social casinos in 2020 and states that Amazon takes 30 per cent of each wager.

The lawsuit reads: “Social casinos are so lucrative because they mix the addictive aspects of traditional slot machines with the power of Amazon to leverage big data and social network pressures to identify, target and exploit consumers prone to addictive behaviours.

“Simply put, the social casino apps do not, and cannot, operate and profit at such a high level from these illegal games on their own. Their business of targeting, retaining and collecting losses from addicted gamblers is inextricably entwined with Amazon.

“Not only does Amazon retain full control over allowing social casinos into its store and their distribution and promotion therein, but it also shares directly in a substantial portion of the gamblers’ losses, which are collected and controlled by Amazon.”

It adds: “By utilising Amazon for distribution and payment, the social casinos entered into a mutually beneficial business partnership. In exchange for distributing the casino games, providing them valuable data and insight about their players and collecting money from consumers, Amazon takes a 30% commission of every wager, earning billions in revenue.

“The result (and intent) of this dangerous partnership is that consumers become addicted to social casino apps, maxing out their credit cards with purchases amounting to tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Consumers addicted to social casinos suffer a variety of non-financial damages ranging from depression to divorce to attempted suicide.”

The legal status of social casinos varies by state and is not always entirely clear. In 2018, a lawsuit against International Game Technology (IGT) and its former DoubleDown Interactive subsidiary argued that their social casino products constituted illegal gambling under state law in Washington. The defendants agreed to a $415m settlement last year after the court deemed virtual chips to have value and thus could be considered as gambling.

Amazon isn’t the only tech giant to come under scrutiny in relation to the promotion of gaming products. In September, Google managed to avoid a fine in Italy over gambling-related content.