New Jersey Woman Keeps Case Against Bally’s $2.5M Jackpot Alive

A woman in New Jersey is not accepting a popular casino’s statement that a game glitch voids all wins – even though it’s a well-established precedent in the industryImage Source: Shutterstock.com

When a jackpot hits in Atlantic City, New Jersey, or anywhere else in the United States, there is one small detail to be mindful of. Game glitches void all wins, and this is precisely what happened in the case of the plaintiff, Roney Beal.

However, there seems to be one specific term that the plaintiff is pushing forward with – breach of “aleatory contract”, which could decide the case, and which has so far allowed the lawsuit to proceed despite the historically low odds of success. Beal does not stipulate against the inherent rule that glitches forfeit all rights to any jackpots.

Attempt to Throw the Case Out of Court Fails

Rather, Beal’s case alleges that the malfunction occurred after the game paid out the jackpotlegitimately and insists that casino staff misinterpreted the result to deny payment. Bally’s has naturally tried to toss the case out of the courts but has so far fallen short in those efforts.

With the case in front of the US District Court for the District of New Jersey, and at least one judge inclined to believe that it deserves further examination by the courts, Beal is probably the person to have come closest to forcing a casino’s hand to pay in a case of “game machine glitch.”

Beal has also said that the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) has failed so far to respond to a complaint she filed with the regulator. The lawsuit will continue to insist on Bally’s breach of contract in the matter, something that the casino has denied.

However, it would be highly unlikely for a casino of Bally’s caliber to have attempted anything untoward toward a customer even with a $2.5-million jackpot on the line. If anything, casinos like Bally’s use this as an opportunity to promote their goods and services.