in Newswire Published on November 26, 2024

Bonus Wheels on International Game Technology’s Wheel of Fortune Slot Machines Are Rigged, Class Action Alleges

Bownes et al. v. International Game Technology PLC et al.

Filed: November 21, 2024 ◆§ 3:24-cv-00528

A class action alleges IGT and several casino operators have defrauded patrons by failing to disclose that their Wheel of Fortune-themed slot machines are rigged.

Defendant(s)

Station Casinos LLC International Game Technology MGM Resorts International Boyd Gaming Corporation PENN Entertainment, Inc. Bally’s Corporation

Law(s)

RICO

State(s)

Nevada

Categories

Entertainment False Advertising Fraud

A proposed class action lawsuit alleges International Game Technology (IGT) and several casino operators have defrauded patrons by failing to disclose that their Wheel of Fortune-themed slot machines are rigged.

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The 31-page lawsuit alleges IGT deceptively designed the spinning “bonus wheel” attached to these electronic gaming devices to replicate a freely rotating, mechanical wheel, similar to the one featured on the Wheel of Fortune television show. Based on this design, the case claims, players are led to believe that they can spin the wheel for a random and equal chance of landing on and winning each payout amount displayed on the equal-sized segments of the wheel.

“However, the bonus wheel feature is not what it seems,” the filing contends. According to the complaint, the outcome of a player’s spin is not pursuant to the laws of physics but predetermined by an internal computer to more often land on segments with lower prizes rather than higher ones.

The lawsuit also names five companies as defendants—including MGM Resorts, Bally’s Corporation, PENN Entertainment, Station Casinos and Boyd Gaming—that have IGT’s Wheel of Fortune slot machines on their casino floors.

The case argues that by concealing this “critical fact” about the Wheel of Fortune game, the defendants have fraudulently induced consumers to spend money on the rigged machines under false pretenses.

“The casino defendants have used and continue to use these enormously popular—and, from their perspective, profitable—electronic gaming devices to illegally siphon billions of dollars from consumers’ pockets into their own coffers,” the suit says.

The filing accuses IGT and the casino operators of violating a federal racketeering law while carrying out their alleged scheme to mislead and defraud the public.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone who spent money to play any Wheel of Fortune-themed gaming device containing a bonus wheel feature at any property in the United States owned or operated by any of the casino defendants.

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