Lawsuit says Aristocrat’s Dolphin Treasure Pokies rigged

When we play the pokies, we generally know what to expect from a machine based on the number of reels, symbols and paylines. That’s the way it should be, right? According to one long-time player, Aristocrat Leisure’s Dolphin Treasure pokies doesn’t provide that standard convenience.

Shonica Guy has been betting – and losing – on the poker machines at her local Crown Resorts-owned Casino Adelaide for the last 14 years. According to documents filed with the Federal Court on Wednesday, her losing streak isn’t just based on an extensive strain of bad luck.

The lawsuit claims that the Australia-based games manufacturer used deceptive means to lure players into thinking they have a better chance of winning than they actually do on the Dolphin Treasure pokies, and other games like it. Ms. Guy’s attorney, Jacob Varghese of Maurice Blackburn, is seeking a court order that would require Aristocrat and Crown Resorts to remove these games from casino floors.

The story first broke last month when The Age reported the law firm Maurice Blackburn, who’s accepted the case on a pro bono basis, would be taking on Australia’s biggest gambling giants in court.

“The machines are actually designed to take your money,” Ms. Guy told Fairfax Media in September, claiming the misleading nature of Dolphin Treasure pokies led her to a destructive gambling addiction. “As soon as I touched the machine I was hooked. There is a fine line between gambling and entertainment,” she warned.

Dolphin Treasure Pokies Misleading Players?

When a player wages war against gambling companies like Aristocrat and Crown, claiming they unfairly lost money on their machines, the results are rarely in favor of the plaintiff. However, Ms. Guy may actually have a solid case here, and it’s worth noting that she’s not seeking damages – she merely wants the machines outlawed and removed from casinos.

Based on court documents obtained by The Australian Financial Review, while the game features 5 reels and 20 paylines – a very typical set-up for devices of its nature – the number of symbols that can appear on each reel are not equal. The Dolphin Treasure pokies presents a lower number of symbols that may land on the first four reels, while the fifth reel has a wider variety of symbols that can appear.

“This means that it is much harder to win the big prize symbols on the last reel than on the others. No matter how many ‘jackpot’ symbols you get on the first four reels, the big fifth reel keeps the odds stacked in favour of the house,” said Varghese.

Because the game’s designers neglected to distribute all possible symbols evenly across the reels, Ms. Guy’s attorney said these poker machines are technically “rigged” to lose more than the game leads players to believe.

“It’s like playing a game of cards without knowing that the deck has four aces of spades, three queens of hearts and seven tens of diamonds,” explained Varghese.

Due to the inordinate number of eligible symbols per reel, the law suit alleges that Aristocrat’s claim of an 88% payout percentage is false.

Aristocrat, Crown Vow to Defend Claims

A spokeswoman for Crown Resorts told AFR, “Crown will vigorously defend any claim.”

Aristocrat declined to comment on the legal challenge this week, but said back in September that the company “emphatically rejects any suggestion that its games are designed to encourage problem gambling, or in any way fail to comply with all relevant regulations and laws.”

For now, the Dolphin Treasure pokies are still available at Casino Adelaide and other gambling destinations who offer Aristocrat poker machines.