Monthly Archives: March 2015

Illinois court tosses lawsuits against PokerStars, Full Tilt

PokerStars and Full Tilt are breathing a little easier after an Illinois court dismissed a pair of nuisance lawsuits against the online gambling sites.

Illinois residents Kelly Sonnenberg and Judy Fahrner filed the suits way back in 2012, looking to capitalize on the Illinois Loss Recovery Act (ILRA), a nineteenth-century statute that allows individuals to collect “illegal gambling” losses suffered by third parties, provided those gamblers haven’t filed their own claims within six months of suffering their losses.

The suits were dismissed for lack of cause in March 2014 but the court gave the plaintiffs an opportunity to resubmit claims that met the ILRA’s requirements. The plaintiffs responded by adding the names of a couple players who’d actually gambled on Stars and Tilt.

On Tuesday, Judge David Herndon dismissed the updated suits, saying the plaintiffs had failed to demonstrate that Stars and Tilt had ‘won’ the losses at the center of the suits. An 1894 court decision involving the ILRA declared that it was “the winner, not the keeper of the house, who is liable to respond to the loser.” As Stars and Tilt only took a rake of the poker pots, Herndon said the plaintiffs were barking up the wrong tree.

No Purchase Necessary: Six Tips for Making Sure Your Online Prize Promotion is not an Illegal Lottery

The Federal Trade Commission’s recent $9.5 million judgment against sweepstakes operator Crystal Ewing is a stark reminder that prize promotions remain fertile ground for regulatory scrutiny both on the state and federal level. Marketers have grown ever more reliant on sweepstakes, contests, and giveaways since Ewing first came to the FTC’s attention nearly a decade ago – thanks in large part to our obsession with mobile devices and social media, and the opportunities they present for instant engagement with masses of digitally-savvy consumers.

Station Casinos ex-employee sent to prison for tax evasion

Authorities say a former Station Casinos advertising production manager has been sentenced to 366 days in federal prison and ordered to pay $351,039 for tax evasion. The U.S. Attorney for Nevada said Friday that from 2005 to 2008 Anthony M. Cirulli received more than $2.1 million in side payments from vendors to guarantee the companies would be awarded printing work.