The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday handed NBC a legal victory by ruling a Forsyth County couple —and potentially millions of other viewers— cannot recover the cost of text messages they sent to play a game on the popular show "Deal or No Deal."

The unanimous decision potentially saved the network a fortune in legal judgments and gutted a class-action lawsuit brought by Michael and Michele Hardin.

Last year, the Hardins filed suit in U.S. District Court in Atlanta against NBC Universal Inc. and other companies affiliated with "Deal or No Deal," which is hosted by Howie Mandel and attracts millions of viewers. The Hardins contended that when viewers sent 99-cent text messages during the show's "Lucky Case Game," they were engaged in gambling.

A centuries' old Georgia law allows the loser in a "gambling consideration" to file suit to recover their losses. The Hardins sought to recover their 99-cent texts and said NBC should reimburse all others who paid the text fees and lost the "Lucky Case Game."

Senior U.S. District Judge William O'Kelley, who is hearing the federal case, asked the state Supreme Court to determine whether Georgia law allows the losers of an illegal lottery to file suit and recover the money they lost. O'Kelley had estimated that if the Hardins prevailed on behalf of themselves and all others who played the game, NBC faced potential liabilities reaching tens of millions of dollars.

In Monday's ruling, Justice Hugh Thompson said the text messages during the "Lucky Case Game" do not constitute a bet or wager. The law, Thompson wrote, "does not authorize the filing of a civil suit to recover the text messages."

O'Kelley will now use this ruling when he considers NBC's motion to dismiss the federal lawsuit.

Jerry Buchanan, a Columbus lawyer who represents the Hardins, expressed disappointment. "But we have full respect for the court," he said. "We will abide by that decision and move on."

Buchanan said he suspected the ruling places the federal lawsuit "dead in the water."

Since that lawsuit was filed, NBC halted the "Lucky Case Game." In the past, viewers were invited during each broadcast to play the game by choosing which of six on-screen gold briefcases was the lucky case. Viewers submitted their choice on the Internet for free or through text messages that cost 99 cents. At the end of the program, the winning briefcase was revealed, and the winners were entered into a random drawing. The winner of that drawing received a prize of as much as $10,000.