A second Light & Wonder slot series looks set to be caught up in the ongoing Dragon Train litigation over concerns it too bears similarities to rival Aristocrat’s Dragon Link titles.
Macquarie analysts said in an overnight note that there appears to have been legal communication between the two companies over Light & Wonder’s Jewel of the Dragon series, prompting Light & Wonder management to “pre-emptively approach the issue”.
The game’s exposure is not, however, as significant as Dragon Train and should not cause any material financial impact, the analysts added.
As previously reported by IAG, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada in September granted Aristocrat a preliminary injunction relating to the Dragon Train series after finding it “extremely likely to succeed in demonstrating Light & Wonder misappropriated Aristocrat’s trade secrets in development of Dragon Train”.
That decision prohibited Light & Wonder from the continued or planned sale, leasing or other commercialization of Dragon Train across the United States.
The Macquarie analysts noted overnight that Jewel of the Dragon was also mentioned in the original Dragon Train litigation legal document filed in June 2024, which indicated that both games shared similarities with Aristocrat’s Dragon Link. Specifically, it stated that Jewel of the Dragon game “Red Phoenix” shared similarities to Aristocrat’s “Autumn Moon” game, including similarities between the Hold and Spin features, the jackpot displays and the logos.
“We connected with Light & Wonder management today and our conversation indicates that Jewel of the Dragon is only a fraction of the size of the Dragon Train fleet and management expects no material impact financially,” wrote Macquarie’s Chad Beynon and team.
“As a reminder, Light & Wonder sold around 10,000 Dragon Train units into Australia, but these were not required to be turned off or replaced as part of the legal proceedings. Light & Wonder did have to replace the Dragon Train units within its US gaming ops installed base, but as management noted, there are far fewer Jewel of the Dragon units compared to Dragon Train.
“This could create some friction with customers but given Jewel of the Dragon’s significantly smaller footprint, we do not expect that this will materially impact Light & Wonder’s ability to achieve its US$1.4 billion 2025 EBITDA target.”
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