The latest in a long list of lawsuits against sweepstakes operators has a little more star power than some of the others.
A California woman has named popular host Ryan Seacrest in a lawsuit that also includes VGW, the company behind popular sweepstakes brands like Global Poker, Chumba Casino and Luckyland Casino.
The woman, Aubrey Carillo, originally filed the suit in October of last year, but amended her complaint with the Riverside County Superior Court last month. While the original complaint only named VGW, the new complaint brought in the American Idol host, who is also a spokesperson for Chumba, as well.
In addition to adding Seacrest as a defendant, the lawsuit also greatly expanded its argument against the operator, with the complaint swelling from 16 pages to 71 pages in the revision.
Suit compares Chumba and sweeps sites to internet cafes
As with other lawsuits, Carillo contends that the products VGW are offering are illegal online casinos in the state. The complaint compared the sites with the wave of internet cafes that rose in popularity in the 2000s. These venues sold patrons phone cards or minutes on a computer with the internet and the customer would also receive a number of points that could be used to play gambling-style games with cash prizes.
The suit argued that a law passed by the California legislature prohibiting these cafes should be applicable to VGW sites as well. It also cited a number of lawsuits against internet cafes where the judgments concluded that the added step of purchasing internet minutes did not remove the element of “consideration” and that these were gambling operations.
“Chumba Casino operates its social casino in strict compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. This lawsuit has no merit and Chumba will vigorously defend its legal right to operate its business. Our brand ambassador Ryan Seacrest is not involved in the operation of Chumba’s business, and it is unfortunate that he has been unfairly targeted as part of this suit,” a Chumba spokesperson told SBC Americas.
Claims ‘blessed’ Seacrest contributing to addiction
The suit alleges VGW is violating state laws relating to online gambling, while Seacrest is culpable for using his popularity to promote the site.
“Someone this blessed in life does not need to hurt people for more money, but Defendant Seacrest does that by serving as the official celebrity endorser for ChumbaCasino.com. Defendant Seacrest promotes illegal gambling and in so doing, contributes to the rise of online gambling addiction among adults and adolescents,” the complaint reads.
The suit also disputes the binding arbitration in the terms and conditions of these sites, arguing that because what the site is doing is arguably unlawful, the terms and conditions are void and unenforceable.
Latest sweeps suits to include third parties
Seacrest is the first celebrity to be named in one of these lawsuits but not the first party outside of the sweepstakes site themselves to be named in a suit.
Other lawsuits have named payment providers like Worldpay and tech giants Apple and Google, claiming these groups enable the sites via their products, and are partially responsible for driving users to these sites. To date, none of these suits have produced a ruling that is the case, but most cases are still active and pending.
