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A judge ruled that Big Tech firms such as Apple that allow casino apps in their App Store are arguably bookies profiting from gambling, but the line is so fine that even he invited the companies to appeal.
Apple has many times been accused of promoting or profiting from gambling through the apps it allows onto the App Store. There were two lawsuits in 2021 alone, and in February 2022, US District Judge Edward J. Davila ruled that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act does not shield these companies from claims that they are effectively bookies.
However, Judge Davilia described the case as presenting "exceptional circumstances" where "reasonable minds could differ as to the outcome." He invited Apple, Meta, and Google to file an "immediate appeal" as that would "help advance this action and avoid unnecessary litigation."
According to Reuters, all three firms have now taken up that invitation, and filed what are described as cross-appeals over the claims. The appeals have been filed separately — and Reuters notes that Google's one does not use the word "bookie" where the others do.
All three, however, argue that Judge Davila wrongly interpreted a key precedent — and all three assert that if this is not corrected on appeal, the impact would be enormous. Apple's lawyers said the effect on its business would be "limitless," as the ruling would require monitoring of the use of every in-app payment in every app — across multiple countries with different laws and requirements.
"That goes far beyond monitoring," says Apple's appeal filing. "That would be Orwellian."
These filings are the start of an appeals process that is not expected to conclude until December 2023.
