A judge in the Supreme Court of British Columbia has ruled that a woman can keep $112,235 that her ex-boyfriend won while using her online casino account.
Timothy Jones filed a lawsuit against his ex-girlfriend, Cheryl Johnson, after she gave him only $5,250 of the $118,000 he won gambling online.
Johnson claimed she had transferred $80 into her betting account, which Jones then used to gamble. She also said she had explicitly told him not to use her account.
Judge Agrees Ex-Girlfriend Funded Gambling
Justice Ronald Tindale agreed that Johnson had been the one to fund the account and given Jones did not have permission to use the money or her account, she should keep the funds.
“In my view, there is a reason in law for the defendant to retain the Casino Winnings: the plaintiff had no permission to use the Casino Account or the $80 which was transferred into the Casino Account,” Justice Tindale wrote in the judgment handed down last week.
“This is not a case where the Casino Winnings were paid by mistake to the defendant,” he added. “It was the defendant’s Casino Account and it was the defendant’s money which was used to play the winning game all without the permission of the defendant.”
Game of Chance Has No Strategy, Judge Rules
Jones claimed he deserves the money as it was his strategy that led to the winnings. Justice Tindale disagreed, saying the win was pure luck.
“In my view, on a game of chance there can be no strategy which the plaintiff employed that resulted in the Casino Winnings beyond the fact that the plaintiff played the game,” he stated.
Johnson won the jackpot playing slots at at JackpotCity. The company is not licensed to offer online slots in British Columbia, but that did not factor into the ruling.
Alberta this week went live with its regulated gambling market, following Ontario as the second province to open up to licensed operators. The province approved the iGaming Alberta Act last year. JackpotCity has a license in Ontario and has been approved to operate in Alberta.
In BC, officially PlayNow is the province’s only government-authorized and regulated online casino.
16-Year-Old May Have Been Gambling
While claiming he was the one entitled to the winnings, Jones also admitted that his ex-girlfriend’s son, who was 16 at the time, was also playing.
He said that he allowed the boy “to make a few spins while he was playing the online game,” but insisted this was prior to winning the jackpot.
After winning the money, Jones took to Facebook to celebrate, but posted “he won” rather than I won. Jones said that he was referring to himself when saying “he won.” Justice Tindale said that explanation did not make sense.
BC prohibits anyone under the age of 19 from gambling and has enhanced ID checks to ensure minors and those on self-exclusion lists do not enter casinos.
Johnson also said that upon winning the money, Jones had told her to come and see what her son had done. The son testified to say that Jones was playing the game and then “put him in front of the laptop during the bonus round,” which led to the winnings.
Justice Tindale accepted that it was primarily Jones that was gambling and the boy was merely in front of the computer in a passive role. Nevertheless, that does not entitle Jones to the winnings.
Money Dispute Ends Troubled Relationship
The dispute over who was entitled to the money ended Johnson and Jones’ troubled relationship. Johnson told the court how Jones was abusive, particularly when drinking.
She also said that he had used her bank account, which funded the casino account, because payday loan companies would take any money from his own account.
In addition, she said he owed her $1,500 and she had frequently loaned him money throughout their relationship. Jones admitted he only used his ex-girlfriend’s account when he had ran out of money.
Following the win, Johnson sent Jones a portion of the winnings in an attempt to get him out of her life.
