Apple, Google, and Meta will stay within the authorized highlight after a federal choose in California refused to dismiss lawsuits accusing the businesses of benefiting from casino-style cellular video games.
On September 30, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila, sitting in San Jose, denied the corporations’ makes an attempt to throw out the circumstances by claiming safety beneath Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. That provision typically shields on-line platforms from legal responsibility linked to third-party content material.
Davila’s 37-page ruling said that the businesses’ function in dealing with in-app purchases meant they have been not performing as “publishers” and due to this fact couldn’t depend on Section 230 as a protection. He emphasised that the problem went past the impartial instruments supplied to builders, making the authorized defend irrelevant on this scenario.
“The crux of plaintiffs’ theory is that defendants improperly processed payments for social casino apps,” Davila wrote. “It is beside the point whether that activity turns defendants into bookies or brokers.”
Allegations of Exploitation and Profits
The litigation, first filed in 2021, alleges that Apple’s App Store, Google’s Play Store, and Meta’s Facebook actively promoted video games designed to imitate “an authentic Vegas-style experience of slot machine gambling.” Plaintiffs declare that the platforms’ involvement amounted to an “illegal racketeering conspiracy.”
According to the fits, the businesses functioned as monetary intermediaries, facilitating transactions for digital chips and accumulating commissions as excessive as 30%. These charges, plaintiffs argue, generated greater than $2 billion for the defendants.
Beyond monetary damages, the plaintiffs contend that the casino-style video games prompted extreme social and psychological hurt, together with dependancy, melancholy, and suicidal ideation. They are looking for unspecified compensatory and treble damages, in addition to extra cures.
Partial Dismissal however Key Claims Move Forward
While Judge Davila dismissed sure claims tied to particular person state statutes, he allowed nearly all of shopper safety allegations to proceed—besides these particular to California.
The ruling means the businesses should proceed defending towards many of the prices. The choose additionally highlighted the broader significance of the case by granting Apple, Google, and Meta speedy entry to attraction his determination on the ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Earlier, in May 2024, the appellate courtroom dismissed associated appeals for lack of jurisdiction, however the brand new ruling might now reopen that path.
Wider Legal Implications
The determination carries implications past the speedy events. Technology corporations have lengthy relied on Section 230 to defend themselves from lawsuits tied to user-generated content. By ruling that fee processing actions fall outdoors that safety, the courtroom could also be signaling a shift in how platform legal responsibility is interpreted.
For Apple, Google, and Meta, the result of the appeals course of might be pivotal. If the ninth Circuit upholds Davila’s interpretation, it might set a precedent affecting how courts consider tech firms’ monetary involvement in third-party purposes.
Silence from Companies and Plaintiffs
In the speedy aftermath of the ruling, Google, a part of Alphabet, declined to remark. Apple and Meta didn’t subject responses, and attorneys representing the plaintiffs additionally remained silent.
The circumstances now proceed within the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California beneath their respective titles:
- In re Apple Inc App Store Simulated Casino-Style Games Litigation, No. 21-md-02985
- In re Google Play Store Simulated Casino-Style Games Litigation, No. 21-md-03001
- In re Facebook Simulated Casino-Style Games Litigation, No. 21-02777
Source:
Apple, Google, Meta must face lawsuits over casino-style gambling apps, reuters.com, October 1, 2025
