Gaming Report: Loto-Quebec Forced to Defend Class-Action Lawsuit Over Faulty Poker Software & More

A Canada-based poker player has initiated a class-action lawsuit against online lottery and gaming operator Loto-Quebec over a software glitch that till May 18, allowed iOS players on the company`s poker site to see hole cards of players on android and PC devices.

The Imperial Pacific International (IPI) is another gaming operator on the receiving side of regulatory action. The Saipan casino operator has almost $37 Million in unpaid community fund dues. The Executive Director of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC), has sought to suspend the company’s gaming license over the arrears.

China’s Ministry of Public Security has launched a Cross-Border Gambling Reporting website to reign in illegal cross-border gambling and telecom frauds. The launch comes just a day after the Jiangsu Province wrapped up the investigations of an illicit gambling racket run by an 18-member gang.

Gambling venues are roaring back to life in the U.S, but clearly, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is unwilling to take any chances. He has temporarily suspended the mandatory in-person registration required to be completed by players at licensed venues before they can access online sports betting services.

Loto-Quebec Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Poker Software That Showed Hole Cards to iOS Players

Online lottery and gaming operator Loto-Quebec has been slapped with a class-action lawsuit over a glitch in its poker software. Filing the lawsuit in Quebec Superior Court, Canadian poker player Elizabetta Bertucci has alleged that till the evening of May 18, Loto-Quebec’s poker platform had a significant defect that allowed some players to gain an unfair advantage over others.

Bertucci has claimed that all players using the company’s Espacejeux or OK POKER portals via an android device or PC were at a severe disadvantage till May 18. In the submission to the court, Bertucci has said that at the end of each hand, the winner’s hole cards were exposed to the iOS players through the ‘hand history’ records but not to PC players. This happened even if the winning player had chosen not to reveal his cards.

“Customers are gambling and spending money and time on the Defendants’ platforms under the false belief that the regular rules of Texas Hold ’em apply and that nobody can see their cards. By failing to provide group members with a secure platform that respects the integrity and rules of Texas Hold ’em Poker, group members were deceived, and their consent when they agreed to contract with Loto-Québec was tainted,” the lawsuit document read.

According to Bertucci, she contacted Espacejeux customer service, and a technician acknowledged that the problem existed, but no action was taken. The issue was finally fixed on May 18, and she was contacted on email by the company rep, who offered her a $15 account credit as compensation.

While Bertucci refused the compensation offered, she alleges to have lost $13,300 playing on the two platforms since July 2010. Claiming that the software glitch also helped iOS players figure out their opponents’ bluff frequency, she has demanded that all the money she lost be reimbursed, in addition to $300 for each player affected by this glitch in punitive damages.

Imperial Pacific Casino May Lose Gaming License Over Unpaid Community Funds

Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International (IPI) could have its gaming license suspended. The company has been unable to pay millions of dollars to a local community fund, and taking umbrage to this, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC), filed a complaint against IPI last Friday.

In the complaint, Executive Director of the CNMI CCC Charlie Atalig sought that IPI’s gaming license be suspended “until such time as all required Community Benefit Fund contributions are fully made.”

The company’s gaming license requires it to pay $20 Million annually into the fund, but it owes $37 Million in unpaid dues over two years. The CNMI legislators have brought out the fact earlier and have been demanding CNMI Governor Ralph Torres to explain the non-payment, but are yet to get a response.

Even though Atalig has clarified that he is not in favor of a license revocation yet, he has underlined that the CCC would act as an appellate court in this issue and could impose a $100K penalty for non-payment of community funds.

Meanwhile, IPI attorney Michael Dotts has claimed that IPI’s parent firm Imperial Pacific International Holdings has “committed to further finance” the casino operator.

China Launches Snitch Platform to Prevent Illegal Gambling, Busts $183 Million Gambling Ring

China’s Ministry of Public Security has announced the launch of a comprehensive reporting platform to fish illegal cross-border gambling. The Ministry disclosed a new QR code on Friday that citizens can scan with their phones. Desktop users can email or visit a new website to report illegal gambling.

The portal was launched just a day after police in the Nantong city in China’s Jiangsu province declared that it has exposed the largest organized gambling ring in the region’s history.

A Website to Report Gambling

The Chinese Ministry of Public Security has launched a new Cross-Border Gambling Reporting Platform for the crackdown of cross-border gambling and telecom frauds. The Ministry has called out to people who have gambled illegally, and want to report their activities, to expose relevant crimes and seek leniency according to law. The portal allows residents to report any case of illegal gambling or check the progress of any previously filed complaint.

Gambling Ring Investigations Wrapped Up

Just a day before the platform was announced, the Nantong Public Security Bureau in China’s Jiangsu Province confirmed that it had closed the investigations on the region’s most massive gambling racket worth a whopping $183.4 Million.

Police said the gambling ring’s mastermind Shi has been fined $17 Million and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Shi, who had 18 other people working for him, ran a gambling business for over two decades and was being investigated for the crimes since 2018.

According to the police, Shi and his accomplices facilitated gamblers to play online from Mainland China through gambling accounts. Many of his Macau-based clients also gambled at Macau’s casinos for which the group would earn a commission. The gang operated through an illegal multiplier system, which is unlawful in Macau.

Illinois Temporarily Suspends In-Person Registration For Online Sports Betting in Casinos

On June 5, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed an executive order temporarily suspending the in-person registration rule that required the state’s residents to register in-person at the casinos before accessing online sports betting services.

The state had opened its regulated sports betting market on March 11 this year, after Pritzker passed the Sports Wagering Act bill in July 2019. The bill stated that for the first 18 months, the state’s residents must sign up in-person at a licensed venue to access online sports betting.

Since mid-March, this has not been possible due to the closure of all the seven casinos in the state on account of the COVID-19 health pandemic.

Section I of the new executive order states, “During the duration of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamations, the provisions in the Sports Wagering Act, 230 ILCS, 45/25-30 (f), 25-35 (f), and 25-40 (i), requiring in-person creation of a sports wagering account at a facility authorized pursuant to the Act in order to participate in sports wagering offered over the internet or through a mobile application, are suspended.”

The order did not state when the suspension would be lifted. Last month, the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB), which is in charge of the sports betting industry in Illinois, extended the suspension of all gambling activity in the state as a result of Covid-19.