“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”. – William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2

In the least surprising news possible, a flurry of copycat lawsuits have been filed to capitalize on the recent court ruling in Washington state that declared the social casino games of Big Fish Games to be a form of illegal gambling.

On Monday, GeekWire broke the news that four other social gaming operators – DoubleDown Interactive, High 5 Games, Huuuge Games and Playtika – had been sued for allegedly violating Washington’s strict gambling laws.

The original lawsuit focused on the state’s vague definition of illegal gambling as risking “something of value” on the outcome of a contest of chance or a future event beyond the gambler’s control. A federal court judge claimed that because Big Fish’s virtual chips were the only means by which players could play on the site, than they indeed represented ‘something of value.’