A North Carolina man has filed a lawsuit alleging that three operators exploited his addiction through predatory gambling practices.
Plaintiff Matthew Joyce alleges that ARB Gaming, BSServices OU, and Affirm Inc. all used predatory practices to exploit his gambling addiction, arguing that this caused him severe financial and emotional harm. He and his lawyers at the Law Office of Reshma Kamath have filed the multi-count lawsuit in the Federal US District Court in Sacramento.
Joyce suffers from a recognized gambling disorder, alongside bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety. He claims that the defendants named in the suit engaged in unlawful and unfair business practices, by marking online gambling platforms as sweepstakes, despite them functioning essentially as illegal lotteries.
Specifically, the suit argues that this is in violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the California Financial Lenders Law, as well as a breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, and unjust enrichment.
What are the predatory gambling claims?
The complaint details that Joyce was deliberately targeted, as he was given Black Diamond Status. That afforded him preferential treatment like personal hosts, free credits, and other incentives not available to every player. In addition, the timing of Joyce’s wins and losses are claimed to have followed a pattern designed to maximize addiction and financial and emotional harm.
For example, larger wins were timed for the beginning of the weekend, preventing Joyce from withdrawing funds during these non-working days. Having funds in the account meant he would continue to bet those funds or cancel withdrawals, with the plaintiff arguing the operators knew he would do so.
Despite clear signs of gambling addiction, the lawsuit argues that the named defendants failed to implement responsible gaming measures as they are bound to, but rather continued to encourage gaming through predatory gambling practices.
In the case of Affirm, Inc., the plaintiff claims that the company allegedly facilitated Joyce’s gambling through high-interest loans, many with APRs of between 24 and 25 per cent, used almost exclusively for gambling.
Joyce is seeking damages from ARB Gaming, B2Services OU, and Affirm, Inc, which could include punitive damages, repayment of wrongfully obtained funds, disgorgement of profits, and coverage of legal fees.
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
