GTECH filed its long-awaited Petition for Review in the Texas Supreme Court today. GTECH is asking the Supreme Court to reverse the decision by the Austin Court of Appeals which held that GTECH can be sued for fraud. Over 1,000 Texas Lottery players allege that GTECH chose to use language on the Fun 5’s scratch-off tickets that misled the players into believing they would win five times the amount in the prize box if they revealed a Money Bag symbol.
In its Petition for Review, GTECH alleges that it was merely doing what it was asked to do by the Texas Lottery. This argument was rejected by the Austin Court of Appeals. The Austin Court noted that the Texas Lottery did not dictate the use of the misleading language on the tickets. To the contrary, the deposition testimony of GTECH’s own employees revealed that they made the decision to use the misleading language on the tickets.
Plaintiffs now have thirty (30) days in which to either file a response or to waive the right to respond unless a response is requested by the Court. If the Court requests a response, it will then notify the parties whether it plans to rule based on their briefs or whether it wants the parties to present oral arguments before the Court.