CSGO Lotto Class-Action Lawsuit Dealt a Blow
A major blow has been dealt to the class-action lawsuit against CSGO Lotto, a third-party skin gambling site for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The ruling by the Washington Western District Court on Oct. 4 stated that the case would not go federal.
The plaintiffs in the case argued that CSGO Lotto and one of its owners, Trevor “TmarTn” Martin, were involved in fraudulent activity that violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Martin, who is also a part-owner of the esports team EnVyUs, frequently promoted CSGO Lotto to his YouTube followers without disclosing his ownership role, which caused community outrage against him and CSGO Lotto.
However, the defendants argued that the plaintiffs, who entered into transactions knowing the wide range of possible outcomes, couldn’t claim RICO when they received less favorable outcomes within that range. The court agreed with the defendants and ruled out a RICO standing, as it didn’t consider gambling losses as sufficient injury to “business or property.”
The plaintiffs’ second option of taking the case federal via the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) was also unsuccessful. Esports attorney Bryce Blum explained in a post on the CS:GO subreddit that plaintiffs needed to provide an actual damages figure exceeding $5,000,000 to establish federal jurisdiction. Since they relied on “common sense” arguments instead of stating a specific damages figure, the court didn’t buy their arguments.
Although the court’s ruling is a setback, the class-action suit has not been dismissed, and the plaintiffs have the option to appeal.