Light & Wonder Faces Legal Challenges from Aristocrat Over Game Similarities

• Light & Wonder might have to reach a settlement with Aristocrat concerning the Jewel of the Dragon series.
• Aristocrat had previously highlighted this issue during the legal proceedings related to Dragon Train.
• Analysts from Macquarie have indicated that Light & Wonder does not anticipate a major effect on its overall performance.

Light & Wonder could be facing challenges akin to those from a few months back, as Aristocrat Gaming is once more scrutinizing a game developed by Light & Wonder, suspecting it might mimic one of its established products.

Light & Wonder May Encounter Increased Legal Challenges from Aristocrat

In the past, Aristocrat initiated litigation against Light & Wonder to ascertain whether Light & Wonder’s Dragon Train game was too similar to Aristocrat’s Dragon Link titles, ultimately winning the case.

A court issued a preliminary injunction that affected Light & Wonder’s Dragon Train series, mandating the company to halt offering these games in the United States due to their substantial resemblance to Aristocrat’s intellectual property.

Interestingly, this legal action did not extend to Australia, where Light & Wonder had already sold and installed around 10,000 Dragon Train units. Presently, another game might be under Aristocrat’s scrutiny.

Aristocrat is possibly examining Light & Wonder’s Jewel of the Dragon series, particularly focusing on the Red Phoenix title, which seems to resemble Aristocrat’s Autumn Moon game. This concern was initially raised during the first litigation phase between the companies, involving Aristocrat’s Dragon Link series and Light & Wonder’s Dragon Train series.

Macquarie, a global financial services firm, issued a report indicating that there has been ‘pre-emptive’ communication between Light & Wonder and Aristocrat regarding this issue. It appears that Light & Wonder has reached out to potentially avert another significant legal dispute between the two companies.

Jewel of the Dragon Series Likely Less Impactful Than Dragon Train Series

Chad Beynon, an analyst at Macquarie, mentioned that the firm has engaged with Light & Wonder’s management team, who assured him that the Jewel of the Dragon represents only a small portion of the Dragon Train fleet, as reported by Inside Asian Gaming.

‘As a reminder, Light & Wonder sold approximately 10,000 Dragon Train units in Australia, which were not required to be deactivated or replaced due to the legal proceedings. Light & Wonder did have to replace the Dragon Train units within its U.S. gaming operations, but as management noted, there are significantly fewer Jewel of the Dragon units compared to Dragon.’

It remains uncertain whether Aristocrat will proceed with litigation against Light & Wonder over its Jewel of the Dragon product, specifically Red Phoenix. Nevertheless, Light & Wonder remains optimistic that even in the worst-case scenario, it would not significantly affect the company’s pre-set objectives.