Numerous online gambling and sportsbook operators offer attractive sign-up offers. These include “risk-free” and “free” bets. The US legislature is currently looking at the promotional language used by sportsbooks to get rid of the “risk-free”, but one New York resident has decided to act.
Lachae Vikers is an American resident who filed a class action lawsuit against the gaming and entertainment company Caesars Entertainment. The state does business as Caesars Sportsbook. She claimed that Caesars Sportsbook lured and enticed her with a “risk-free” offer, which in reality led to losses.
False advertising
The lawsuit was filed late in February and explains Vickers’ agreement with the sportsbook to receive “free” or “risk free” bets. The plaintiff claims that she lost money on the bets. Vickers claimed she should not be held responsible for any monetary losses that resulted from bets that were “risk-free” or “free”.
These advertisements make materially misleading representations while omitting warnings about the acute and immediate danger that an initial wager is not without risk.
Lachae Vickers filed a Class Action Lawsuit
Vickers wagered and deposited $125. Vickers claimed that she wasn’t reimbursed for the money she had lost, but Caesars instead loaded the same amount of credits for her. She was allowed to use the credits for two weeks, and she lost her money. Vickers explained that her initial bet was not “free” nor “risk-free”.
She argued that she would not have signed up for Caesars Sportsbook if she knew this at the beginning.
Anyone who has signed up for the company’s “free” and “risk-free betting offers can join the class action lawsuit.
Caesars instead provided website credits which Plaintiff had to use within two weeks. Plaintiff made those bets and still had less than the money she had initially deposit and wagered. Therefore, her initial bet was neither “risk-free” nor “free.”
This document explains what the law is.
Strangely, Caesars Sportsbook’s New York Page called Go Full Caesars currently lacks any language regarding “free” or risk-free bets. According to the current offer, if someone loses their wager, they will receive 100% of their stake back in Bet Credit. This is applicable up until $1,250.
