Gaming equipment supplier Scientific Games will be paying a $151.5-million penalty after losing in an antitrust case against four companies.
The amount is significantly lower than the $315 million, plus attorney’s fees and costs, a federal court had originally ordered the company to pay last August.
The plaintiffs included Shuffle Tech International, which argued that Scientific Games’ “sham patent litigation” against competitors had kept others from bringing other card shufflers to the market.
The company’s Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice-President James Sottile, through a press release, said, “While we firmly believe that the jury decision was wrong, we are pleased with the outcome of the settlement and that this matter will be resolved for good.”
The $151.5-million amount to be paid, Scientific Games explained, was still dependent on the court ordering the judgment on the jury’s verdict to be vacated. “The Company anticipates that the trial court will enter such an order,” it said.
According to the company, “while the settlement resolves the disputed claims,” with all pending motions and filings to be dropped, “Scientific Games has not admitted any liability.”
Originally, the jury in the case had set $105 million to be awarded to Shuffle Tech and the other plaintiffs, but the presiding judge, deeming this too small, tripled the amount.
In its third-quarter financial report, the company had included $309.6 million in connection with the case, as part of restructuring and other charges, which contributed to its $351.6-million loss for the period. Even so, this did not result in cash outflow, as the verdict was still being appealed. In comparison, its third-quarter loss in 2017 was $59.3 million.
Revenue for the past third quarter was $821 million, up 6.8% year on year.
Last month, the company acquired odds provider Don Best Sports Company and DBS Canada. The move is in line with the launching of the SG Digital Sportsbooks Operations service early this year. The company’s Managing Director Benjie Cherniak foresees the acquisition helping them as more U.S. states develop a legal sports betting environment.
This past week, the company announced in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that board member Galvin Isaacs was resigning from the company, in which he has been vice-chairman for two years.
