Michigan Supreme Court to Rule On Gambler’s Claim BetMGM Owes Her $3.2M

The Michigan Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it will hear a case pertaining BetMGM and its refusal to pay a Detroit woman the $3.2 million she allegedly won via online casino gaming. This case is going on almost three years.

Michigan Supreme Court to rule on whether woman is owed $3.2 million for winning at the Luck o’ the Roulette slot

In June 2021, Jacqueline Davis claimed she won $3.2 million playing BetMGM’s “Luck o’ the Roulette” slot months prior in March that same year. The game is described by BetMGM as a “fixed odds betting game based on roulette.” However, BetMGM Casino Michigan said she didn’t win that amount because of a glitch within the slot game.

Davis had played the slot game for five days straight, according to a 57-page complaint. She started out with a $50 deposit and $4.50 spins. It later increased to $150. She then started betting the maximum of $5,000.

Over the course of those five days, Davis amassed $3.2 million in her account.

“When it got to the three, I wanted to start withdrawing,” she said.

Davis then went to MGM Grand Detroit to collect her money, but the casino gave her just $100,000 in cash. Her account was suspended after she collected the cash. Of course, the rest of her balance was never paid.

As of May 2024, Davis has still not received the rest of her winnings.

Lawyer David Steingold, who is representing Davis in Michigan, said while there may have been a glitch, it was not an acceptable defense. The company is liable for not ensuring the game was working normally.

He added: “They were instructed by regulation to check this every single night, every 24 hours. And my client played for five straight days.”

A Wayne County Circuit Court concluded recently that Davis couldn’t bring her lawsuit forward because the court ruled her claims were preempted by the state’s 2019 Lawful Internet Gaming Act.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) is responsible for enforcing LIGA. This ruling was also upheld by a Michigan Court of Appeals panel in a court decision in September 2023.

Davis also argued in her petition that MGCB does not have the authority to resolve player disputes

Despite the obstacles, the Michigan Supreme Court has now approved Davis’ petition for leave to appeal. Davis argued in her petition that there was no forum to mention claims of fraud or breach of contract in the state of Michigan under the current laws.

Furthermore, Davis argued that MGCB does not have authority to resolve player disputes. Plus, she made it a point in her petition that there is no law that explains the process of disputes between players and operators.

“The focus of the current process is on whether the casino violated a rule that would impact its license, not on providing a remedy to patrons,” Davis said in her petition, according to Law360.

BetMGM’s Jeremy N. Kolman said that Davis earned the money based on malfunctions of the game.

In 2021, Kolman wrote in his initial complaint that the malfunction “resulted in certain win amounts being multiplied when transferred from the onscreen balance to the patron’s wallet. This resulted in an inaccurate and inflated amount being awarded to Ms. Davis’s wallet despite Ms. Davis not actually winning that amount in the game.”

According to court documents, Davis was unaware of the inflated amount and BetMGM never informed her. She also claimed that a BetMGM VIP employee allegedly congratulated her on the “Big Win.”

Although Davis has failed up till this point, the Michigan Supreme Court believes there is merit in examining her case. Another case similar to this one is currently playing out in New Jersey.

A 72-year-old woman named Roney Beal said she intends to sue Bally’s Atlantic City after the casino denied her the $2.55 million she believed she won playing a Wheel of Fortune slot machine.