Light & Wonder and Aristocrat have agreed to settle their Dragon Train lawsuit in both Australia and the US, ending the uncertainty that has concerned for investors.
Light & Wonder and Aristocrat have agreed to settle their Dragon Train lawsuit in both Australia and the US, ending the uncertainty that has caused concern for investors.
The resolution to the dispute comes almost two years since Aristocrat sued the Las Vegas-based gaming supplier for allegedly developing Dragon Train using its trade secrets and copyright works.
The lawsuit – which later extended to Light & Wonder’s Jewel of the Dragon game – has resulted in major share price damage to the business, including after the Nevada District ordered an injunction in September 2024 preventing it from profiting from Dragon Train in the US.
While the specific terms of the settlement remain confidential, the two companies shared in a joint statement Light & Wonder has agreed to pay $127.5m regarding the misappropriation and IP infringement claims.
Meanwhile, Light & Wonder also acknowledged certain Aristocrat math information was used in connection with the development of both Dragon Train and Jewel of the Dragon, and agreed to end commercialisation of these games globally.
Light & Wonder CEO Matt Wilson said: “Light & Wonder is pleased to resolve this matter and move forward. We are firmly committed to doing business the right way – respecting our competitors’ intellectual property rights while protecting our own rights.
“This matter arose when a former employee inappropriately used certain Aristocrat math without our knowledge and in direct violation of our policies.
“Upon discovery, we took immediate action and have since implemented strengthened processes aimed at preventing similar issues in the future.”
Wilson added the settlement protected the interests of the business’ customers, employees, and shareholders and allowed it to return its focus towards content development.
Dragon Train lawsuit results in procedures for identifying at-issue math
The agreement also saw Light & Wonder agree not to make any further use of the Aristocrat math information and copyright works at issue in the litigation, and to permanently destroy all documents reflecting that information.
Additionally, the two slot giants confirmed confidential procedures for identifying and resolving any issues concerning the use of Aristocrat math in connection with “certain existing Light & Wonder hold and spin games and certain hold and spin games now in development”.
These included games for which Light & Wonder was ordered to produce math models to Aristocrat in the US case.
Meanwhile, under the deal Aristocrat’s claims against Light & Wonder in Australia and the US will be dismissed, with both parties acknowledging that major investment and innovation goes into game development, including the underlying math.
As such, the businesses agreed, maintaining protection of these valuable proprietary assets and respecting IP is critical to ensuring fair competition among all participants in the gaming industry.
Aristocrat CEO and Managing Director Trevor Croker added: “Aristocrat welcomes fair competition but will always robustly defend and enforce its intellectual property rights. As an ideas and innovation company our intellectual property is vital to our ongoing success.
“We are committed to protecting the great work of our dedicated creative and technical teams. We welcome this positive outcome, which includes significant financial compensation and follows the decisive action we took to ensure the preservation of Aristocrat’s valuable intellectual property assets.
“This decisive action included securing a preliminary injunction in September 2024, at which time the court recognised that Light & Wonder was able to develop Dragon Train by using Aristocrat’s valuable trade secrets and without investing the equivalent time and money.”