The international betting company Lottoland has managed to win a second gambling dispute that has been taken by a customer of its to court. This time, it was cleared over an AU$238-million gambling case after a customer accused it of deceptive conduct involving jackpot competitions that were taken as Powerball draws by mistake.
Earlier in 2020, a woman took the company to court in the Northern Territory, where Lottoland currently holds its operating licence in Australia. The woman, known as Ms B, claimed that she had won AU$126 million after choosing the right numbers in what she believed to be a Powerball lottery. What really happened was that Ms B had actually entered the “THU Jackpot” offered by Lottoland, which has nothing to do with Powerball draws. The only thing in common between the two games was the fact that they both took place on the same day of the week.
A similar complaint was lodged by a second individual with the Northern Territory’s Racing Commission later in 2020. The man, who was referred to as Mr O, made a claim that he had won an AU$238-million prize after choosing the right numbers in the Powerball Lottery draw. However, what he actually did was entering the “US Power” competition offered by Lottoland, which is not related to the US Powerball game.
The two punters who filed the respective legal cases claimed they were tricked into thinking that they were participating in Powerball draws.
Complainants Claim Lottoland Misleads Customers by Using Logos Resembling the Ones of US Powerball Lotteries
Lottoland started operation in Australia in 2016 and, reportedly, has over 8 million customers on a global scale to date. Since then, some Australian lottery operators have said that the company’s brand name creates confusion among customers, who wrongly believed they enter lottery draws that is not true. According to some companies, customers are being potentially confused by the fact that Lottoland does not conduct regular lotteries that involve random number draws.
Now, both complainants claimed that Lottoland has been advertising its jackpot competitions with logos that pretty much resembled the ones used by the US Powerball lotteries.
The allegations were rejected by the gambling company, which also explained to the Commission that the logos in question were not similar. The operator further noted that the word “Powerball” had not been used in its products since 2016.
In the latest case filed against the company, Lottoland disputed the claims of using misleading and deceptive conduct, which were made by the plaintiff, and had that bets on international lotteries had not been available to its customers since federal rules prevented it from doing so last year. The operator explained that it has advertised jackpot competitions involving betting on the outcome of global financial markets.
According to Lottoland’s explanation to the commission, the complainant had also submitted his entry shortly after the actual US Powerball Lottery draw had come to an end. A similar thing happened to Ms B, who had also submitted her entry shortly after the Powerball draw results were announced.
Both cases got turned down by the Commission, clearing Lottoland from all charges.
- Author
Daniel Williams
