A man has filed a lawsuit against the “social sportsbook” Fliff for actually acting as a sports betting platform illegally.
The platform is available to people in 49 states and allows users to make predictions on sporting events to be in with a chance of winning real money from sweepstakes. People can use virtual tokens or deposit real money into their wallets and withdraw the funds directly into their bank accounts.
Fliff players cannot win anything of monetary value if they don’t deposit real money
The class action complaint, filed in California, alleges that Fliff players cannot win anything of monetary value if they don’t deposit real money, which is a violation of both federal and state gambling laws. Sports betting is not legal in California and the complaint alleges that Fliff’s operations do not fall under the definition of “sweepstake” as the distribution of prizes is not by chance.
The lawsuit is also pushing for an injunction that would prevent Fliff from offering its contests across state lines. The plaintiff, who has lost more than $7,000 through the app, claims that it breaches the Wire Act. He is seeking $5m worth of damages.
