Class Action Against Scientific Games and Subsidiaries Filed in Kentucky

A class action has been filed against Scientific Games Corp. and two of its subsidiaries. The lawsuit was submitted to Fayette Circuit Court, Kentucky.

Class Action Against Scientific Games for Offering Virtual Slot Machines in Kentucky

The Lexington Herald Leader reported that Hannelore Boorn, a woman living in Lexington, has filed a class action lawsuit against several Nevada-based companies, which run online slot machine-like games.

Boorn accuses the companies of breaching Kentucky state laws by offering online gambling games. The lawsuit was filed after Boorn gambled away thousands of dollars on the companies’ virtual slot machines.

In her claims against the defendants offering virtual slot machine games, she points to unfair enrichment, and illegal gambling operations and she also highlights that the companies should not be allowed to keep the unjustly acquired profits. Boorn is seeking full reimbursement and disgorgement and compensation for all legal costs.

Scientific Games Corp. and two of its subsidiaries are the defendants in this legal case. The case has been taken up by the federal court in October. No other plaintiffs have joined the class action up to now.

The Nature of the Virtual Slot Games

According to the filed class action, Boorn started playing Scientific Games’ Quick Hits, which is basically a virtual casino slot machine, back in November 2015. She got hooked on the game and kept on buying virtual chips to play. Eventually, the amounts she lost over the years came up to thousands of dollars.

When a player starts the Quick Hits game for the first time, he gets several free virtual casino chips he can use to play the game. Once those chips are over, it is possible to buy more virtual chips for real money and play with them. The game usually offers the chips with a discount in order to entice players to buy more and play more.

However, there are no payouts like at actual retail and online casinos. The player just wins more virtual chips he can then use to play more.

In the legal case documents, it is stated: “These free sample chips offer a taste of gambling and are designed to encourage players to get hooked and buy more chips for real money.”

Consequently, Boorn’s main allegation in her lawsuit is that these games constitute online gambling, and the companies that offer them violate Kentucky state laws.

In the state of Kentucky, gambling is allowed to a limited extent. There are no casinos under state regulation and the only legitimate form of gambling is on horse racing.