Amazon facing lawsuit over social casino partnerships

Tech giant Amazon is under heavy fire for its alleged involvement in online gambling. The update reveals a recent lawsuit against the company, accusing it of distributing games from over 30 virtual casinos.

It is not unusual for big companies like Amazon to get entrapped in legality issues, most resulting in their partnership with other entities. This new case highlights their involvement with online casinos and their roles, most of which endangers their customers.

Illegal partnership: Affected consumers seek reparations

The legality of online casinos has always been a tricky subject for gamers. It gets even more problematic when considering the legality of social casinos and sweepstakes in the country. While they are not out rightly banned, social casinos are considered illegal in some U.S. states.

A man from Nevada files a lawsuit against Amazon, seeking restitution for the harms caused by Amazon's participation in online Illegal gambling activities. The man who was said to have an inherent addiction to virtual casino apps filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Social casinos are known for hosting games and simulating gambling activities like slots and table games. However, users use virtual currencies that have no monetary value. This is the significant difference between real online casinos and social casinos. One cannot bet or win real money via social casinos. Hence, many tend to turn to this form of gambling as a safer option that guards against losing real money.

Although this form of gambling looks safer, it may be a facade. Most social casinos give users virtual currency for free, primarily as rewards for signing up and daily log-ins. However, users can purchase virtual currency using real money to continue playing on the platform. Users are given this option when they run out of free virtual currency.

The lawsuit alleged that Amazon partnered with several virtual casinos to offer consumers over 30 illegal casino apps. Generally, the very topic of online gambling and its legality has come into question, especially as it concerns certain U.S. states. However, the complaint points out a specific 2018 U.S. appeals court ruling that groups' social casino' as an illegal arm of gambling under the Washington State Gambling Law.

It further accuses Amazon and these social casinos of smuggling slot machines into consumers' homes across the United States. Since social casinos are easily accessible via any internet-enabled platform, users can access them 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and all year round.

More details revealed

Although Amazon has yet to comment on this, it goes without saying that this may yet be another giant lawsuit noose hanging around the company's neck.

The Plaintiff's law firm handling the case is quite confident, having secured hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements in similar circumstances. Getting payments and reparations for affected consumers is their primary goal, and they are hitting significant milestones. Can this as well be another win for the law firm?

The firm's founder, Edelson's Todd Logan, explains their approach towards the case, claiming this would be their eighth lawsuit relating to social casino apps. In his statement, he reiterates his enthusiasm in thrashing out the issue, stating he looks forward to trying the case to a Jury of Amazon's Peers.

While Amazon's partnership with these social casinos is a means to an end, which is to earn more profits, they have been accused of going ahead with the partnership despite the awareness of the illegality of said casinos. A closer look into the workings of social casinos shows the casinos that offer such services benefit the most.

Although the free games offer consumers no significant benefit other than being a social platform, despite this, users can purchase virtual money with real currency in case they run out of the free ones. In this singular case, it is estimated that tens of thousands of consumers were affected and are all seeking damages and restitution.

Wrapping Up.

Amazon may yet find itself paying reparations to consumers due to a partnership that seems not to yield a positive result. It is unclear whether the company was aware of the legality of the enterprise, as it has yet to provide a statement on the matter. However, Amazon would undoubtedly approach this lawsuit with the right amount of diplomacy and professionalism it is known for.

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