Loto-Québec Hit With Class Action Lawsuit Over Its Glitchy Poker Platform

Loto-Québec has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging its glitchy Texas Hold’em gaming platform allowed some poker players to have an unfair advantage.

Plaintiff Elisabetta Bertucci filed the application for the Loto-Québec class action lawsuit on June 1, in Quebec Superior Court.

Elisabetta alleges the Texas Hold’em poker game has a flawed platform that allows some players to benefit by viewing opponent’s cards without their knowledge. She says the alleged glitch, which was reportedly fixed on May 18, affected the OK Poker and espacejeux platforms.

“The Federal Court of Canada has already recognized that Texas Hold’em is a game in which skill clearly predominates over chance, where higher skilled players may come ahead at least 60% of the time as a result of variables related to strategy and game tactics,” the poker platform glitch class action lawsuit says.

Elisabetta allegedly lost about $18,000 due to the glitchy online poker platform.

The alleged poker platform glitch reportedly benefitted poker players who used an iOS device for online gaming.

According to the Loto-Québec class action lawsuit, iPad users were given an option to reveal their opponents’ pocket cards on the table, providing them with an unfair advantage over their opponents, who were reportedly unable to stop this process.

Under the rules of Texas Hold’em, each player’s two pocket cards are dealt face down and intended to be viewed only by the player, unless the player voluntarily decides to show their pocket cards. This rule is necessary to protect a player’s strategy during the game.

The poker platform glitch reportedly allowed two pocket cards at the end of each hand to be revealed, which allowed players to observe their opponents’ strategy. They could then adjust their own strategy accordingly and therefore derived an unfair advantage over their opponents.

Elisabetta alleges the glitch allowed iPad users to see their opponent’s pocket cards even after a hand was over, giving them an advantage over players who were not using iOS devices. Because experienced poker players tend to take notes on their opponents to help them remember their style of play, having access to their opponents’ “hand history” provides valuable information they can use to defeat their opponent.

Elisabetta says this glitch may have benefitted all players using iOS devices. She says she first became aware of the problem on May 13 when she used an iPad to play Texas Hold’em on the defendants’ platform for the first time. She says she had previously played poker on her computer (which did not operate on the iOS platform) for years previously and could not have known of the poker platform flaw any earlier.

She contacted espacejeux that same day to report the problem. A technician confirmed that the problem existed but when the flaw had still not been fixed on May 18, Elisabetta again reported the problem and asked to speak to a supervisor. That evening, she noticed the glitch had been fixed, according to the Loto-Québec class action lawsuit.

A few days later, she was reportedly offered a $15 credit to her account, but she refused to accept it because the glitch had allegedly caused her to suffer far greater losses.

“By failing to provide Class members with a secure platform that respects the integrity and rules of Texas Hold’em Poker, the Class members were deceived and their consent at the time they agreed to contract with the Defendants was vitiated,” Elisabetta alleges in the Loto-Québec class action lawsuit.

She says that it is important to change all of the usernames on the platform because users who were able to take notes on their opponents while the glitch was ongoing still have access to this valuable information.

“The players who have this information on other players are more likely to defeat their opponents than if they did not have access to this information (which they would not have once all the usernames are changed),” Elisabetta says in the Loto-Québec class action lawsuit.

Class Members of the proposed Loto-Québec class action lawsuit include anyone who, until May 18, paid any amount of money to play Texas Hold’em poker on the espacejeux and/or OK Poker platforms.

By filing the Loto-Québec class action lawsuit, Elisabetta seeks reimbursement of the amount Class Members paid to pay Texas Hold’em poker on the allegedly flawed poker platforms. She also seeks punitive damages of $300 per Class Member and an order requiring the defendants to change their usernames to level the playing field.

Have you ever paid to play Texas Hold’em poker on the espacejeux and/or OK Poker platforms? Tell us your story in the comment section below!  

Elisabetta is represented by Joey Zukran of LPC Avocats.

The Loto-Québec Poker Platform Glitch Class Action Lawsuit is Elisabetta Bertucci v. Société des loteries du Québec inc, et al., Case No. 500-06-001073-200, in Quebec Superior Court, Canada.

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