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Summary
- Hannelore Boorn from Lexington is accusing three Nevada companies of offering illegal online gambling
- She bought virtual coins for cash, gambled, and lost thousands of dollars playing a virtual slots game
- Boorn claims these iGaming operators have violated Kentucky gambling law
Three gaming companies in Nevada are facing a class-action lawsuit for allegedly violating Kentucky laws.
The lawsuit was filed by a woman from Lexington who claimed she was allowed by the defendants to gamble in their virtual slot machines where she ended up losing thousands of dollars.
Lawsuit Claims Defendants Broke Kentucky Law
Scientific Games Corp and two other companies operating under Appchi Media Limited and Scientific Games: Sciplay Corp were named as defendants in the suit.
According to documents filed by Hannelore Boorn in Fayette Circuit Court in September, the companies in question “illegally profited” from her and tens of thousands of other customers by operating their virtual casinos, which is in breach of Kentucky law.
The state currently prohibits all forms of online gambling. Those looking to play online casino games in Kentucky can do so via free-to-play social casino sites that operate under the sweepstakes classification.
Boorn stated that she bought thousands of dollars’ worth of virtual currency and lost them while playing “Quick Hits“, one of the virtual casino games offered by the three companies. She started playing the game in November 2015.
Quick Hits is a virtual slot machine that can be played using virtual coins. Players are initially given free coins to play. When the coins are all used up, players have the option to buy more coins to continue playing.
The virtual coins are available for purchase at discounted prices. Players receive their winnings also in the form of coins, similar to the ones sold at the US sites. So if they buy coins, play the virtual slot and then win, they’ll be awarded free coins that they would otherwise need to purchase.
According to the lawsuit, how the game works especially with its free coins offer is akin to gambling. The format is designed to entice players to purchase more chips for real money, the lawsuit claims.
Defendants Allegedly Earned Massive Sums from Illegal Operations
Boorn claims that the defendants are offering a gambling service via their casino games as players are prompted to buy coins and wager them on the virtual slot machine in hopes of winning additional coins that could be purchased for cash.
The plaintiff has also accused the three companies of engaging in “unjust enrichment” through their unlawful operation of illegal online gambling games from which they obtained millions of dollars in profits.
