Let’s say you are on a self-exclusion period. Suddenly, you can not control your urges to play and you manage to trick the casino’s online security system, make it to a game and suddenly win the jackpot worth 77,000 CAD! Now the dilemma; should the casino pay you or not?

This happened in Canada last week where two gamblers, Hamidreza Haghdust and Michel Lee, had been on a voluntary self-exclusion (VSE) period. One day, they managed to fool the security system and continue gambling. They have spent 200,000 CAD and 30,000 CAD respectively and finally hit a jackpot worth 77,000 CAD. Due to the VSE period, the casino has the right not to pay out the winnings.

The local judge presiding over the case has noted:

The claims of the class members raise common issues that could usefully be resolved in the format of a class proceeding. The class definition is appropriate and includes only those who have a common interest in determining whether the defendant’s withholding of Jackpot prizes was a breach of contract or an unconscionable trade act or practice.

This issue has already reached the British Columbia Lottery Commission and will now be resolved in a trial. This is not the first case where a gambler on a VSE period has managed to fool the online casino’s system. In previous cases the casinos have managed to keep the winnings.

The official trial start date is still pending.