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 )
Colleen- so far nothing yet this morning.
@Colleen- I haven’t received the email regarding the amount yet. Hopefully I’ll get an higher amount like you…. Fingers Crossed
M&B - yesterday At 4pm (central) I received an email with the amount that will be deposited into my account. I don’t know how it was calculated because based on the formula posted on the website, and the 20% they kept for reserve, it was more than I anticipated. My bank has not received the payment yet, so I assume these must be wire transfers. Anyone else receive anything?
I got my first payment today. The estimated payments were way too high. Based on there examples, I expected a $15,000 settlement. I got $244. Wow. That’s worth .003 of my lifetime spending on Big Fish
@Colleen….. Hi Colleen, I’m not very good reading court papers and so forth. Im just happy that we will get something lol but I just want know how will I calculate minus lawyers fees and whatever other fees we have to pay. I know it’s 20% lawyer fees and other fees?????
Nothing yet. The update with the motion states July 12th. I think they are holding on to it all as long as possible as I’m sure the firm gets the interest$. Keeping 20% of everyone’s claim for a reserve seems a bit much too.
Has anyone received their checks as promised????
Tomorrow is the day for payment. I set mine up for electronic. Should be interesting to see if it really happens. Good luck everyone. Hope you all are blessed!
Settlement website has been updates! It says July 9th. Here is the update; SETTLEMENT UPDATE: We anticipate to begin transmitting the initial settlement payments on July 9, 2021. If you filed a Challenge to dispute the Lifetime Spending Amount included on your Initial Claim Determination Notice, a final determination regarding your Challenge has not been made. Once a final determination has been made on all Challenges, a Final Determination Notice will be emailed. Additionally, settlement award payments will be re-calculated and supplemental payments may be issued.
Website as of today says this "We anticipate to begin transmitting the initial settlement payments on July 9, 2021. If you filed a Challenge to dispute the Lifetime Spending Amount included on your Initial Claim Determination Notice, a final determination regarding your Challenge has not been made. Once a final determination has been made on all Challenges, a Final Determination Notice will be emailed. Additionally, settlement award payments will be re-calculated and supplemental payments may be issued." SO DISPUTES will hold up the full amount which they anticipated to send at first with the original amount. Good luck with your challenges. If I get what I should without supplemental - I will be excited. So yeah. Thankful to read the update.
I read in a statement that we should get paid by July 16, 2021
Has anyone gotten another email about the payouts?
Alicia - calm down girl. Anyone who is able to go to the site and read and got the email knows the deadline was extended. They have until July 11th - IF they do not extend again and with the folks I have seen on sites saying their amounts are wrong or they were denied...I am assuming (yes I know..) - that this process could be a while. I really do not understand how you all are living if this check is a make or break for you. YOU spent it never expecting it back. So just be thankful this settlement went through and you could make a claim. Also to the folks saying they are not returning emails. You do know they have a site up with updated info for a reason. To avoid you wasting their time on senseless emails. I emailed once and got a reply within an hour. Then again mine was about the actual claim process and delays due to COVID. So my claim would have been late. But it made it on time. Not calling/writing everyday to get an ANSWER as you all say for when you will have your money. Be thankful for this entire settlement or you would not have gotten a penny back.
You can't you can't get ahold of anyone they don't email you back I don't know what's going on I still haven't received my check
Has anyone received an update since the deadline has passed? I was hoping we’d get an email with actual amounts of our payout prior to receiving. The estimated amount could be way off... not counting on that.