NY Lottery Defrauds Public In ‘Bait And Switch’ Ad Campaign, Class Claims

MANHATTAN (CN) - The New York State Lottery defrauds the public in a massive ad campaign in which a cute little man claims, falsely, that "the odds of winning Take Five are 1 in 9," though the true odds of winning a cash prize "start at 1 in 10 - a sixth-place prize of an average of $7," a RICO class action claims in Federal Court.

"To call a free play 'winning' is outright fraud and is designed solely to mislead consumers," the complaint states. "No reasonable consumer interprets this to be a 'win,' as the most likely result of a free play is a loss, and the second most likely result is to be awarded another free play. Either way, it is extremely likely that a player 'winning' a free play will end up losing all the money they invested in the dame. This is not 'winning' by any reasonable definition of the term. ...

"This makes the entire Take Five advertising strategy a massive bait-and switch scheme: consumers are lured into purchasing Take Five tickers by promises of extremely favorable winning odds, odds which turn out to be for the nearly worthless chance of playing again, not the much longer odds of winning an actual cash prize."

Plaintiffs demand punitive damages for RICO conspiracy. They are represented by Balestriere Lanza.

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