Bally's Atlantic City in Hot Water with $2.5 Million Unpaid Jackpot and 2025 Losses

At SportsBoom, we generally stick to US casino news related to gambling online, with the occasional mix of developments out in Las Vegas, the casino capital of the United States. However, with gambling exploding all around the country, both in the various state-sanctioned land-based casinos and on tribal lands, sometimes we feel the need to share some breaking news with you from other markets.

Bally's Atlantic City Casino & Hotel Under Fire

There are some big developments in Atlantic City, and two of the biggest stories right now are related to troubles over at a longtime boardwalk property, Bally's Atlantic City.

Bally's AC is coming under fire on two fronts.

Back in June, a player won, or at least thought she won, a massive $2.5 million jackpot on a Wheel of Fortune slot machine made by IGT. The casino disputes that claim, and now the two parties are embroiled in a lawsuit.

Over in the boardroom there's general unease about the company's quarterly reports, as Bally's earnings reports look grim. And that's with them not paying the large jackpot in dispute.

Let's take a look at both of these developments in detail.

Big Fight Ensues Over Alleged Unpaid Jackpot

Donna Inserra, a New Jersey resident, has filed a lawsuit against Bally's Atlantic City after the casino refused to pay her alleged $2.5 million jackpot win on a progressive Wheel of Fortune slot machine game.

The plaintiff claims that, in June 2025, while playing the Wheel of Fortune slot, the reels lined up with the jackpot combination worth millions of dollars, only to see the casino hide behind the "Malfunction Voids All Pays and Plays" principle.

Officials from Bally's claim that the "win" wasn't really a "win," but rather a technical malfunction, or glitch.

Slot machines are controlled by random number generators, or RNGs, that determine the outcome of spins. They ensure that each spin is random and independent of any previous results. According to manufacturer's, the random result selected by the generator is the actual result of the game, not the visible display, which can, in some circumstances, produce a jackpot that doesn't represent the game's actual result.

Of course, when there's a disconnect between what shows on the screen or reels and what the believed internal result of the game displays, a legal fight is almost guaranteed.

We will keep you up to date as the courtroom drama unfolds.