Gambling dressed as “social”
The state of Washington has sued multiple gaming app companies for allegedly offering residents of the state illegal gambling games, raking in over $225 million in the process.
Filed on Tuesday by Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, the lawsuit’s two biggest targets are Aristocrat and Playtika, the latter of which operates the Slotomania brand, often advertised in national commercials. The state says the companies are not licensed to offer gambling in Washington, yet despite that, attract over 150,000 to their apps each month.
“These companies repeatedly violated Washington law, engaged in deceptive practices, and fleeced Washingtonians out of hundreds of millions of dollars,” Brown said in a statement. “It is especially troubling to see gambling apps targeting children.”
The apps at issue are generally known as social gaming apps. They offer gambling games like slots, bingo, and poker, but do not use real money, nor do they allow players to win real money. Because of that, the companies do not consider them gambling and thus believe they are not violating any laws.
Where they blur the line, though, aside from the types of games they offer, is that players can buy virtual currency for real money. Thus, some app users have run through thousands of dollars – the lawsuit says some have lost hundreds of thousands – paying money to play a gambling game in which they can’t even win real money.
Targeting kids?
The lawsuit also accuses the companies of targeting children, focusing on Playtika’s Bingo Blitz app. In the complaint, the state points out that Bingo Blitz uses cartoon characters and game elements that would appeal to kids, as well as a YouTube page with videos that appear to made to appeal to kids.
And looking at the YouTube channel, Bingo Blitz TV, it’s hard to argue. The thumbnails look very much like something one would see on a page designed for children, and most videos are less than two minutes long, consistent with short-form, low attention span, social media scrolling habits.
One video, to look at a random example, is called “100 Ice Cream Flavors??? (EXTREME ICE BATH CHALLENGE)”. In it, the host, Michelle, says she must show viewers how to make 100 flavors of ice cream within 15 minutes or else dunk herself in a vat of ice water (the video is only about two and a half minutes long). During the video, pieces of a promo code are revealed which will allow Bingo Blitz players to claim a free gift. The video is upbeat, silly, and colorful, and very much looks like something for children if it wasn’t for the social gaming tie-in.
Though the social gaming apps do not technically require the use of real money, a 2018 court ruling determined that virtual currency constitutes a “thing of value,” a key part of the definition of gambling.