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 )
Tier 14 many years and dollars spent I seen someone calculated amount spent by tier where did that come from. I emailed said they are waiting on the settlement admin to send out emails but expected payouts by late April early May
I am waiting also like so many . I am now not even getting responses from the law firm as I initially did . Not sure what is going on . As far as the game goes I was banned from both of my accounts for no reason other than I emailed them and said it was not fair game play . And it isn't. I was tier 15 on big fish in 3 years and tier 13 on jpm in 2 years . They took all the money I spent and poofed it to the wind . I was spinning one night with friends and the next morning my accounts were blocked. I had many friends I was unable to say goodbye to . I just vanished. I know they are worried . It hurts my heart .
I know most of you will disagree but I feel lucky we are getting anything back. I don’t know about you but no one put a gun to my head. I didn’t win most of the time but I had hours of fun with friends. I could have pressed the delete app button at any time. Whatever I get I will eventually give back I am sure.
Tier 16 players are the ones that started the class action. Just because you aren't one doesn't mean they don't exist. We all are tired of waiting and I doubt that anyone has been paid. We will get there. Nice to hear from others who are still waiting too.
Still nothing. No email. Nothing. I mean is this surprising? It should have been a certain tier and up not tier 1 or 2's that is a joke. That is what is holding up this process are folks who spent 1000 or less and not people who played from the start who got literally screwed out of thouands. And someone said they are Tier 16. That is not even a thing.
April did not get anything direct deposited. Please refer to the site where the information is accurate. You will get an email first explaining your lifetime spending. We will not see money for a while still.
Acer mentioned he got his direct deposited. That is not a fact. You will get emails first explaining your payout and life time spending per the lawyers handling this. Please review the site and note the actual process. This process is going to take a bit to get full settlement payments. Do not be like Acer - a lard ass who has nothing else to do.
To add to my previous comment …… I’m (was) tier 16!
Well it’s April now and I’m hoping that BF email will appear soon! (As far as the slider bar for “ guess-taments” goes……I spent more money than that bar could handle……… attorney did tell me that I should be happy w/the amount $ I get back. Let’s hope so)!!! ?♀??♀?
Someone nick “Amy” posted that she got the direct deposit on 9th of April... is that for real? I don’t think noone ever got any payment yetzzz
I have been playing multiple account in this game my first one is I am on level 130 and the other is level 30 and I’m also VIP but I don’t know about tier that I have and I’m hoping they can track it down since I have payed different account
Has anyone received payment yet? If so, what tier amount was theirs. Just curious as to what their process is.... like if they are quicker in paying out smaller payments first or vice-versa. Tier 1 - $1-$500 Tier 2 - $501-$1,000 Tier 3 - $1,001-$5,000 Tier 4 - $5,001-$10,000 Tier 5 - $10,001-$15,000 Tier 6 - $15,001-$20,000 Tier 7 - $20,001-$30,000 Tier 8 - $30,001-$40,000 Tier 9 - $40,001-$60,000 Tier 10 - $60,001- $100,000 Tier 11 - $100,001 or more
Anybody get paid yet? And how? Check or direct deposit?
This is comment I received from them when I inquired about payments and 60 day time frame we were given. In order to ensure accurate calculations and provide due process to each person who filed a claim, the Court has outlined specific processes and procedures that we must follow prior to finalizing the calculations and issuing any settlement payments. We are strictly following those processes and procedures. If it is determined that we will need more than 60 days to issue payments, we will discuss this with the Parties and if the Parties agree, we will request additional time from the Court. We do not have an exact date for the Claim Determination Notices at this time. Please check back in a few weeks for more updated information. We greatly appreciate your patience. Please rest assured we are working extremely hard to get the Notices out to Class Members in a timely manner. So I don’t think we will see anything in near future??
Has anyone received their checks or payments?