Michigan Supreme Court lets gambler sue BetMGM over $3.1 million winnings

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The Michigan Supreme Court docket has handed an enormous win to a Detroit girl locked in a $3.1 million battle with BetMGM. On Tuesday (July 22), the justices unanimously stated Jacqueline Davis can transfer ahead together with her lawsuit towards the net playing large, rejecting BetMGM’s argument that state regulators, not the courts, ought to deal with the dispute.

It began in March 2021, when Davis went on a six-day scorching streak enjoying “Luck O’ the Roulette” on BetMGM’s website. She turned a $50 deposit into greater than $3 million. BetMGM even permitted her request to withdraw $100,000 and emailed her congratulations. However quickly after, the corporate froze her account and claimed a glitch within the sport had inflated her winnings.

Case towards BetMGM to maneuver ahead in Michigan

In a unanimous opinion authored by Justice Brian Okay. Zahra, the courtroom discovered that “there isn’t any clear indication that the Legislature meant the [Lawful Internet Gaming Act] to abrogate plaintiff’s common-law claims of fraud, conversion, and breach of contract.” The justices reversed decrease courtroom rulings dismissing Davis’s lawsuit and despatched the case again to Wayne Circuit Court docket for additional proceedings.

On the middle of the battle is BetMGM’s declare that Michigan’s gaming legal guidelines and the oversight of the state’s Gaming Management Board (MGCB) imply gamers like Davis can’t take their disputes to courtroom. BetMGM argued that since “the MGCB has unique jurisdiction over any dispute associated to on-line playing,” Davis’s lawsuit couldn’t proceed.

The Michigan Supreme Court docket has issued an opinion in No. 166281, Jacqueline Davis v BetMGM, LLC, which was argued on April 10, 2025. https://t.co/2IeUW0LE3o pic.twitter.com/dntNNu46Ui

— MI Supreme Court docket (@MISupremeCourt) July 22, 2025

However the Supreme Court docket rejected that argument, discovering that “the Board doesn’t have the authority to adjudicate such a dispute” and that “plaintiff’s pursuit of her common-law claims in circuit courtroom is just not inconsistent with a statutory scheme that confers on the MGCB discretion to take corrective motion.”

The justices identified that after BetMGM froze Davis’s account, the MGCB investigated however expressly informed Davis that its overview was “not meant to make a dedication on the deserves of any excellent dispute or litigation between a certified participant and the web gaming operator” and that the company had “no authority to award any cash or different aid on to a certified participant.”

BetMGM claims technical error on girl’s account

BetMGM stated its personal investigation discovered a technical glitch that boosted Davis’s account steadiness on about 2.5% of her performs. “Absent this error,” BetMGM wrote in an April 2021 letter, “Ms. Davis’s account would have gone to zero roughly round her 368th flip and he or she wouldn’t have been in a position to proceed enjoying with out depositing extra funds.”

The excessive courtroom stated points like these belong within the courts, not with state regulators. Justice Zahra wrote: “Just because the MGCB could take corrective measures on some issues beneath the LIGA doesn’t imply that the MGCB is required to take corrective measures on all issues to resolve a dispute between a patron and licensee.”

The ruling drew consideration to Davis’s extraordinary playing streak. After depositing simply $50, she went on what the opinion described as a “‘heater’ of epic magnitude,” rising her account steadiness to $3.29 million over a couple of days.

The ruling doesn’t resolve whether or not Davis will get the complete $3.1 million, but it surely clears the way in which for her lawsuit to maneuver forward in state courtroom.

Equally, in March, Paddy Energy was informed by the British Excessive Court docket to pay out $1.28 million (£1 million) after a customer sued. She was initially informed she’d hit the mega jackpot however solely acquired £20,000.

BetMGM didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon the ruling in Michigan.

Featured picture: BetMGM / Canva

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