Big Fish $155 Million Settlement Finalized by Federal Judge, Says Aristocrat
Posted on: March 2, 2021, 04:27h.
Last updated on: March 2, 2021, 04:52h.
Australian slot machine giant Aristocrat Gaming announced to the ASX Tuesday that a US federal judge in Washington state has given final approval to a $31 million settlement of two class-action lawsuits related to its Big Fish social casino platform.
That’s good news for the plaintiffs in the suits, the small fry taking on the Big Fish. They’re former players of the social casino site who claimed that they were the victims of predatory illegal gambling games. It’s not so good for Big Fish’s current owner, Aristocrat. Nor for former Big Fish Games owner Churchill Downs, which is on the hook for around $124 million.
The $155 million figure at least will come as no surprise to the two companies, which reached an agreement in principle to settle in May last year. The final sign-off came two weeks ago from the US Federal District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Something of Value?
Aristocrat purchased Big Fish from Kentucky-based Churchill Downs in 2017 for $900 million, three years after Churchill had acquired the formerly independent games studio.
As part of the settlement, Seattle-based Big Fish agreed to establish a voluntary self-exclusion policy and to change the game’s mechanics so that players who run out of virtual chips can continue playing without having to buy more.
Both Aristocrat and Churchill continue to deny that the Big Fish platform ever broke Washington state gambling laws.
Crucially, Judge Milan D. Smith disagreed when he delivered his shock March 2018 ruling that the virtual play chips used in the games constituted “something of value,” despite their lack of direct monetary worth.
Shockwaves for Games Industry
Smith’s interpretation meant that the play-money games fell into the classification of gambling, which Washington state defines as “risking something of value on the outcome of a contest of chance or a future contingent event not under the person’s control or influence to receive something of value in the event of a certain outcome.” ??
All previous attempts to sue social games developers for offering “illegal gambling” had been laughed out of court.
Smith’s ruling had huge ramifications for the social games industry, and not just games that aped casino slots. Any game that included chance-based mechanics and in-game microtransactions could now be seen to violate the law.
That could prove to be a problem for a state like Washington with a thriving video games development sector. In fact, two Washington lawmakers have introduced a bill that seeks to safeguard the state’s 20-percent share of the global industry and protect it from future lawsuits.
State Rep. Zach Hudgins’s (D-11th) and State Sen. Mark Mullet’s (D-5th) legislation would modify state gambling law to exempt games where players do not cash out for real money.
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Last Comments ( 142 )
Unfortunately it's a 1 for me
I’m also still waiting to hear about this! They originally said they hoped to start the payouts in April so I’m assuming we will be hearing something soon. They also said in an email they would be sending letters showing amounts and expected dates for payment but now it says it’s gonna be through email
4 for me
You will not get as much as you originally thought. The lawyers got close to 40 million. Read the most recent court document on the settlement documents. They got their money now where is ours?
4
It’s 4 for me over $20,000 probably much closer to 30,000.
I noticed that the slider to estimate settlement is gone but the recovery amount table is the same. I think that it means settlement will still be based on lifetime spending. When you say you have spent a lot, I wonder how much that would be. Anyone willing to reply? Lets do a simple table, if you spent in the following range then respond with the corresponding number: .01 - 1,000 - 5 1,000 - 10,000 - 4 11,000 - 50,000 - 3 51,000 - 100,000 - 2 100,000+ - 1 It's a 1 for me.
I am not getting any info either. Each time I sent an email asking about when can I expect to get my cut. I spent a lot of money
i sent them a email, its always automated,says, no information this time on a payout date
I filed my claim in November 2020. The Big Fish Settlement site took down the feature of the estimated amount you will receive tool to allow you to get an idea of how much you will receive. By sliding the slider to the amount you have spent over the lifetime you've been playing, they projected the estimated amount you were to receive. When I it, my projected amount to be received was from $10,000 to $30,000. But right after February 11th... the day of the finalized trial... I noticed they took down the feature of allowing someone to see their estimated amount. It started to make me think that they are lowing the amounts projected that they were once showing us. I also can no longer call and reach anyone for information like we were once able to do. I can't find any updated information on the matter either. Can anyone else?
still dont know when or how much i will be getting
Anyone heard anything more about payouts?
I would like to know when in April are we receiving our checks I submitted my information in November very frustrating
When will people find out how much money they are going to recieve? What date?
When we know our claim I loose too much money here