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One of the largest makers of games, game software, and gaming equipment, Scientific Games has embroiled itself in a legal confrontation with Chicago-based company Shuffle Tech International.
According to Shuffle Tech International, the trouble really started when Scientific Games entered the gaming machines market and began to eliminate its competition through unlawful and unfair means. These methods mainly included engaging in frivolous lawsuits. The card shuffle machines producer told USA Casino Online, “Scientific Games wanted to protect its monopoly and prevent other companies from taking business away from it.”
In 2015, Shuffle Tech International hit Scientific Games with an antitrust lawsuit for unfair business practices since Scientific Games allowed this pattern of frivolous lawsuits to keep its monopoly over the gaming hardware industry.
A federal jury in Illinois agreed with Shuffle Tech International stating, “Scientific Games illegally tried to get rid of its competition and awarded Shuffle Tech a $315 million verdict. Shuffle Tech also charged Scientific Games tried to illegally obtain patents on parts of games that it had already patented.”
Scientific Games, which is a leader in the global lottery industry and specializes in developing automatic card shufflers similar to Shuffle Tech, has a total revenue of $56 Billion in the U.S. market alone.
Shuffle Tech has levied several charges against the tech company, many of which have been considered unfounded by the court. However, the jury concurred with Shuffle Tech and decided to award the company more than $105 Million in compensatory damages. Additionally, because the jury agreed with Shuffle Tech, the company was awarded double the amount in punitive damages, taking the total amount to $315 Million.
$315 Million is huge amount for any company to lose out and as expected, Scientific American has said it will challenge the verdict. This case seems to be far from over, so it looks like we will have to wait and see which card shuffler emerges the winner.
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