PHAI Sues Caesars Over "Predatory" $2,500 Deposit Promotion

The Public Health Advocacy Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on public health policy as it pertains to the gambling industry, announced a new lawsuit in Philadelphia, PA, against Caesars Online Casino and its brick-and-mortar partner, Harrah's Philadelphia Casino.

Their purpose for the PHAI is that it is "seeking to expose and stop an alleged dangerous, misleading, and illegal 'deposit match' promotion" that the online outlet offers.

The lawsuit cites the $2,500 deposit match and points to the small-print terms and conditions, which lay out that a player must wager $375,000 over a seven-day period of Blackjack to gain access to the $2,500 in deposit match bonuses, assuming the player deposits the full $2,500.

The lawsuit alleges that Caesars and its partners have "effectively rewritten the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by mandating that new customers gamble up to $375,000 before being paid," per the press release.

It also mentions that the public isn't made aware that the promotion is designed to lead customers on a "wild chase of action."

PHAI Alleges Predatory Gambling Practices

"We know the gambling industry, with the assistance of the American Gaming Association (AGA) and the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS), is aggressively attempting to push the legalization of online casino gambling across the United States.

Thus far, the seven states with online casino gambling seem ill-prepared or unwilling to regulate the wild tactics of the industry. This promotion, engineered by Caesars, is among the most egregious we have seen to date," said PHAI Executive Director Mark Gottlieb.

Dr. Harry LEvant, the Director of Gambling Policy at PHAI, also added comments saying, "It is unconscionable for a gambling company to knowingly require people to gamble excessively and put their mental health at risk as a condition to cash out their winnings.

More importantly, nothing in Pennsylvania's gambling rules or laws permits a casino to refuse payment unless and until customers begin gambling to excess.

This is dangerous to Caesar's customers, immoral, and just plain wrong."

More comments were added by PHAI Director of Litigation Andrew Rainer, Esq. And PHAI Founder and President. Dr. Richard Daynard.

"PHAI continues to utilize the courts to protect clients and the public from unreasonable risks of harm caused by the negligent, careless, and reckless conduct of the gambling industry," Rainer said.

"The mission of the Public Health Advocacy Institute is to protect public health and advance social justice. The days of the gambling industry disregarding public health and safety are coming to an end. When Caesars doesn't play fair, it puts players' health at risk," Daynard added.

Caesars’ Bonus Terms Raise Red Flags

As of June 24, 2025, the current offer appears to have changed to a 100% deposit match up to $1,000.

The terms and conditions go over playthrough requirements and game contribution percentages.

Here's how it breaks down for each type of game:

• Slots: 15x
• Video Poker: 30x
• "All other casino games, excluding all variations of Craps, Roulette, Baccarat and Sic Bo": 75x
• Craps, Roulette, Baccarat, and Sic Bo: Don't count.

The multiplier is for the amount you deposit and the bonus you receive. So, under this new bonus, you'd have to wager $150,000 on Blackjack.

Now, if you played slots only, it would be $30,000.

These playthrough requirements are higher than their normal wagering requirements for other offers, which are 5x for games like Blackjack and 1x on slots.

The PHAI went into further detail regarding the deposit match bonus of $2,500, providing the following example:

"Assume a person is playing blackjack at $10.00 per hand at the nonstop pace of two hands per minute. This amounts to $1,200 of gambling action per hour.

If the person continued playing Blackjack nonstop at $10 per hand, it would take 312.5 hours to meet the promotion's $375,000 wagering requirement.

Since the promotion is capped at 7 days, that person would have to continue gambling nonstop for 44 hours each day to fulfill the wagering requirement."