Caesars Sued for Allegedly Deceptive $2,500 Casino Promotion

The Public Health Advocacy Institute has filed a lawsuit in Philadelphia, PA, against Caesars Online Casino and its retail partner, Harrah's Philadelphia Casino. 

The PHAI says that it is "seeking to expose and stop an alleged dangerous, misleading, and illegal 'deposit match' promotion" that the casino offers. 

More About the Lawsuit and PHAI's Position

The PHAI points to a deposit match welcome bonus that was for $2,500. It cited the terms and conditions, which assert that players who only play Blackjack would need to wager $375,000 over seven days. 

The Institute added that Caesars and its partners have "effectively rewritten the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by mandating that new customers gamble up to $375,000 before being paid." 

Caesars' Bonus Terms and Conditions

At the time of looking into this, the current offer is a 100% deposit match up to $1,000. 

Here are the playthrough requirements for each type of game per the terms and conditions:

• Slots: 15x
• Video Poker: 30x
• "All other casino games, excluding all variations of Craps, Roulette, Baccarat and Sic Bo": 75x
• Craps, Roulette, Baccarat, and Sic Bo: N/A

For example, using Blackjack, players would need to wager $150,000. The playthrough requirements are 75x the bonus amount and the amount you deposit added together. So, if you did the full $1,000, it would be $2,000. You then take the $2,000 and multiply it by 75x. 

The PHAI added an example to their claim in the context of the $2,500 offer, saying: 

"Assume a person is playing Blackjack at $10.00 per hand at the nonstop pace of two hands per minute. This amounts to $1,200 of gambling action per hour.

"If the person continued playing Blackjack nonstop at $10 per hand, it would take 312.5 hours to meet the promotion's $375,000 wagering requirement.

"Since the promotion is capped at 7 days, that person would have to continue gambling nonstop for 44 hours each day to fulfill the wagering requirement."

PHAI Claims "Predatory" Gambling Practices

In a press release, numerous PHAI personnel released statements. 

One came from Executive Director Mark Gottlieb: "We know the gambling industry, with the assistance of the American Gaming Association (AGA) and the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS), is aggressively attempting to push the legalization of online casino gambling across the United States. Thus far, the seven states with online casino gambling seem ill-prepared or unwilling to regulate the wild tactics of the industry. This promotion, engineered by Caesars, is among the most egregious we have seen to date."

Another came from Dr. Harry Levant, the Director of Gambling Policy at PHAI: "It is unconscionable for a gambling company to knowingly require people to gamble excessively and put their mental health at risk as a condition to cash out their winnings. More importantly, nothing in Pennsylvania's gambling rules or laws permits a casino to refuse payment unless and until customers begin gambling to excess. This is dangerous to Caesar's customers, immoral, and just plain wrong."

There were also comments from PHAI Director of Litigation Andrew Rainer, Esq., and PHAI Founder and President. Dr. Richard Daynard.

"PHAI continues to utilize the courts to protect clients and the public from unreasonable risks of harm caused by the negligent, careless, and reckless conduct of the gambling industry," Rainer said. 

"The mission of the Public Health Advocacy Institute is to protect public health and advance social justice. The days of the gambling industry disregarding public health and safety are coming to an end. When Caesars doesn't play fair, it puts players' health at risk," Daynard said.