Belin McCormick Attorneys Win Recognition of Casino Right to Withhold Winnings
In a case watched by casino industry executives around the country, the Iowa Supreme Court resolved an issue of first impression in favor of the argument made by Belin McCormick attorneys on behalf of client Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino.
The case involved the right of Prairie Meadows to withhold gambling winnings when an individual who had been banned from the premises returned and engaged in gambling without being detected. The individual registered slot machines winnings totaling just over $9,000; however, when Prairie Meadows determined that the individual had been banned, Prairie Meadows declined to pay out the winnings.
The right to withhold winnings is important to casinos because it removes the main incentive for banned individuals to attempt to return and gamble.
The Iowa Supreme Court accepted the argument, made by Belin McCormick attorneys, that a banned individual’s right to casino winnings turns on the common law of contract. The Court then further agreed that no contract can exist between a banned individual and a casino because a casino offers or promises to pay gambling winnings only to individuals who have the right to be on the premises.
In addition to formulating the winning legal argument, Belin McCormick attorneys presented a variety of factual issues to a jury, obtaining a jury verdict in favor of Prairie Meadows.
Belin McCormick partners Tom Flynn and Dennis Ogden handled the case in the trial court with assistance on appeal from partner Margaret Callahan, who did the appellate briefing, and partner Mark McCormick, who gave the argument before the Iowa Supreme Court.
Because the Iowa Supreme Court’s analysis turned in part on Iowa common and statutory law regarding gambling, the right of a casino to withhold gambling winnings may be different in states other than Iowa.
