Years in the making
Four years ago, Detroit’s Jacqueline Davis went on an online gambling run to end all online gambling runs. Over the course of five days playing Luck O’ the Roulette on BetMGM, Davis won nearly $3.3 million, down from a peak of $11 million. But when she tried to cash out, she was denied by the gaming operator, which said a “glitch” created her massive windfall.
Davis sued but made little progress, and now the case has hit the Michigan Supreme Court, where oral arguments began last week.
The issue at hand is not whether there was actually a glitch but rather who has the authority to resolve such a case.
What a week
Let’s begin at the beginning. On March 18, 2021, Davis deposited $50 on BetMGM and started playing $4.50 per spin on Luck O’ the Roulette. As she racked up the wins, she upped her bets to $150 and eventually the game max of $5,000 as her gigantic heater continued for five days straight.
In an interview with Detroit’s Fox 2 News, Davis said that she barely slept during the run because “Who sleeps when they’re winning money?”
At the end of March, after winning over $3 million, Davis went to MGM Grand Detroit to cash out a $100,000 advance on her winnings. The casino gave her the money and she returned the next day to get more. It was at that point that the casino refused to pay out, claiming that the game was glitched.
In her initial legal complaint, Davis said someone at BetMGM offered her $23,000 in cash or $75,000 in BetMGM credits on top of the $100,000 she already had in exchange for never discussing the matter publicly. She refused.
According to the complaint, BetMGM’s Jeremy N. Kolman said that the glitch caused some win amounts to be accidentally multiplied when moving from the onscreen balance to Davis’ BetMGM wallet. This allegedly happened on 2.5% of her wins, totaling $4.1 million.
Davis’ lawyer, David Steingold, accepts that there was a glitch, but claims that BetMGM lost its opportunity to recover any erroneous winnings because it did not check the integrity of its games every 24 hours, as required by state regulations. On top of that, Steingold questioned whether or not players who lost received refunds because of a glitched game.
Who has jurisdiction?
The interesting part about the case is that neither side is specifically disputing the events. BetMGM, instead, argued that the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) is legally the only entity with the power to resolve online gaming disputes and thus Davis has no right to sue.
The court agreed, adding that the MGCB is much better equipped to make determinations than a court of law. Davis appealed and the Michigan Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s decision by a 2-1 vote, citing the state’s Lawful Internet Gaming Act (LIGA), which gives the MGCB authority on such issues.
So now the case is in the state Supreme Court, where the parties are still arguing over whether or not Davis is allowed to sue. It has since gotten more complicated, though, as the MGCB said that it doesn’t have the authority, either, as its role is to regulate gambling in the state, not serve as judge and jury in disputes.
The post Michigan Supreme Court Hears $3 Million BetMGM Non-Payment Case appeared first on Poker News Daily.
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