Light & Wonder’s Dragon Train games are still available despite attempts by Aristocrat to enforce its injunction.
Light & Wonder’s Dragon Train games are still available despite attempts by Aristocrat to enforce its injunction.
Dragon Train Chi Lin Wins is still available online at BetMGM Casino in New Jersey, Michigan and West Virginia, NEXT.io has confirmed.
The land-based version of the game also continues to operate on casino floors, Aristocrat confirmed in a legal filing.
This is despite judge Gloria Navarro from the Nevada District on Monday (23 September) ordering Light & Wonder to cease profiting off the popular land-based and online game.
An Aristocrat attorney said in the filing: “Although the terms of the injunction are clear, L&W has signaled that it may not remove, replace, or turn off existing Dragon Train games absent further order of the Court.”
The Australian slots giant filed a motion in the Nevada District yesterday attempting to receive a court order to enforce the preliminary injunction.
The business argued the court should impose a $25,000 per day penalty for each day it is not compliant with the order.
Light & Wonder seeks clarification from court
Light & Wonder itself has said in filings it is seeking clarification from the court over the scope of the order.
The supplier said the wording of the injunction could be interpreted to only apply to future leases or sales and requested clarification over existing leased games.
If the order does apply to existing leased games, the company also requested the court outline timings for when it expects this to be done by.
Light & Wonder argued it has a significant number of units distributed across the US and removing or replacing them will take significant time and resources.
The provider said: “Complying with the Order will require cooperation and consent from casino operators and notifications to gaming regulators, as well as coordination of personnel and resources to physically travel to each location where Dragon Train is installed to take down or replace existing installations across the United States.”
Latest twist in Dragon Train litigation
The dispute over the injunction is the latest twist in case which has seen Aristocrat accuse its competitor of trade secret misappropriation and copyright infringement relating to its Dragon Link games.
The legal battle centres on allegations Light & Wonder hired former Aristocrat employees and used their inside knowledge to copy the underlying mathematics, functionality and visual elements of Dragon Link games.
After months of litigation, Aristocrat successfully obtained its preliminary injunction from the court.
This resulted in an approximately 20% decline in Light & Wonder’s share price on both the Nasdaq and the ASX, where it is dual listed.
The business subsequently issued a public statement stating it would be making no changes to its expected $1.4bn FY2025 Adjusted EBITDA.
However, analysts at Macquarie still opted to lower its Target Price 4% to $114 per share.