Google and Apple RICO Lawsuit is Back

Google and Apple have been dragged back into the New Jersey courts with a class action lawsuit that is based on the RICO Act that was designed to fight organized crime. 

New Jersey resident Julian Bargo first filed a case that also included McLuck, Crown Coins, High 5, and WOW Vegas casinos. Last month, he voluntarily dismissed the case. Now, he’s back with a new claim that has omitted the casinos and targeted Apple and Google.

This should allow players who downloaded any Sweeps casino from Google Play and the Apple App Store, or used either Google Pay or Apple Pay to deposit funds to be considered in the final ruling. Two new plaintiffs, Lamar Prater and Rebecca Pratt, have also joined the case. 

Details of the Case

The plaintiffs’ case rests on Google and Apple supplying illegal gambling software through the app stores, facilitating illegal transactions with Google Play and Apple Pay, and also supporting illegal gambling with app monitoring services and marketing advice. That’s the essence of citing the Racketeer, Influenced, and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

For the case to succeed, the plaintiffs have to prove that Sweepstakes casinos are illegal, which may be complicated. Even if the case is ultimately unsuccessful, however, it could still have a major impact on the sweepstakes casino industry. 

Google and Apple are two of the biggest companies in the world, and even the substantial earnings from the Sweeps casino industry are a relative drop in the ocean. If they find themselves dragged into court enough times, the negative publicity alone could make them both rethink their support for the best sweepstakes casinos, and that would have a knock-on effect on other payment processors. 

New Jersey judge Michael E. Farbiarz is handling the case, and summonses have been issued to Google and Apple. We’ll keep you updated with the news as it happens.