A U.S. judge on Thursday approved a $415 million class-action settlement regarding claims that DoubleDown Interactive and International Game Technology violated Washington’s gambling laws and consumer protection provisions.
U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik called the ruling “fair, reasonable, and adequate.” It concludes more than four years of litigation.
This is far from the first legal issue gambling sites have faced recently. As a wave of betting and largely unregulated advertising is rolled out across the antion.
Settlement Details and Consumer Compensation
Online consumers alleged games developed by DoubleDown and International Game Technology broke the state’s laws against gambling. While the casino games are free to play, the lawsuit said consumers were forced to purchase additional chips using real money. Class attorneys argued that users were entitled to pursue their losses under a state law.
Consumers who spent money on DoubleDown’s products — including DoubleDown Casino, DoubleDown Fort Knox, DoubleDown Classic or Ellen’s Road to Ritches — before Nov. 14, 2022, and applied for a part of the settlement can expect compensation within 90 days.
According to the lawsuit, tens of thousands of consumers “purchased and lost” chips by playing DoubleDown Casino. The lawsuit further stated: “Defendents’ online casino games have thrived, and thousands of consumers have spent millions of dollars unwittingly playing Defendents’ unlawful games of chance.”
DoubleDown and International Game Technology have denied any liability, contending that the claims “rest on novel and untested interpretations of Washington’s gambling laws.”
Reuters said that lawyers for the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
While seven class members had opted out of the settlement, Lasnik said there were no formal objections to the deal. The plaintiffs’ lawyer Todd Logan said that the remaining members stand to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Class members who spent larger amounts on chips can expect to receive larger payments in return. Any funds that remain following the initial round of settlement payments may be put toward a second distribution or be donated to the Legal Foundation of Washington.
The judge also awarded $121.5 million in legal fees to attorneys at Edelson, the Chicago-based firm leading the case. This amounted to approximately 29% of the settlement fund.
Additionally, Edelson said it has now won more than $651 million in class action suits against social casinos.
Regarding the size of the legal fees, the judge called the litigation “extremely risky for Class Council. Class Council worked entirely on contingency, prosecuted a line of several class actions against well-funded corporations, and pursued an entirely novel legal theory.
“Class Council vigorously litigated this case for over four years, progressing further in litigation than any other among Class Counsel’s social casino cases.”
As part of the settlement, DoubleDown has agreed to provide more disclaimers about its casino applications, including a voluntary self-exclusion policy for users. Players will also now be allowed to continue using the apps for free without having to make additional purchases.
Class members will be required to provide a list of the applications they played, their Player ID and Platform ID, as well as any email addresses associated with the accounts from which they purchased virtual chips. The deadline to submit a claim form is April 11, 2023.