A judge in Clark County District Court has decided that Las Vegas-based manufacturers of gaming equipment Light & Wonder jumped the gun by marketing a Baccarat game without a commission from British Columbia Lottery Corp. called Ruyi Baccarat before an agreement it had with a rival gaming provider had expired.
On January 17, the district court’s judge Joanna Kishner signed a partial summary judgment against Light & Wonder subsidiary L & W Gaming Inc.
The case is ongoing with lawyers who now allocate officials in British Columbia in advance for a final decision.
Kishner stated that Light & Wonder violated a strategic alliance distribution agreement that it had with a small Las Vegas company, the Talisman group, manufacturer of EZ Baccarat, by marketing and taking pre-orders for Ruyi Baccarat on August 4, 2023.
The judge did not determine the requested liberation.
“Talisman is a two-person gaming company that goes up to one of the largest gaming companies in the world,” said Joshua Gilmore, a lawyer with Las Vegas-based Bailey-Kennedy LLP, who represented Talisman. “We are extremely pleased that the court has decided to the benefit of our client on this important issue.”
Light & Wonder, who now markets Ruyi Baccarat in a partnership with BCLC, claimed that the strategic alliance agreement it had with Talisman was vague when it comes to the company could market and sell a digital version of the game instead of the live Green-Felt version. They also said that it was unclear which North American markets covered the agreement.
Talisman, founded in 1997 by Robin Powell and Francisco “TJ” Tejeda, is a consulting company that specializes in expertise for the gaming industry. Its EZ Baccarat games are now offered in North America by Las Vegas-based Galaxy Gaming Inc.
Representatives of Light & Wonder did not respond to comment request.
On February 25, the company reported two -digit percentage growth in gaming revenue and revenue during the fourth quarter and for 2024. Game industry analysts have continued to praise the company’s results.
The judicial action with Talisman was the second court issue for one year for Light & Wonder, which in September was ordered by the US District Court Gloria Navarro to remove 2,200 of its Dragon Train-themed slot machines from North American Casino Golvs because they were too closely similar to Dragon Link and Lightning Link games that were produced Light & Wonder was in the kn.
Light & Wonder followed the order and ended up replacing these machines with other games from its warehouse.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@ theplayerlounge.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @rickvelotta at X.
