A federal arbitrator has ruled that over 100 casinos can proceed with a class-action lawsuit against gaming device manufacturer Light & Wonder regarding alleged monopolistic practices in the card-shuffling machine market.

American Arbitration Association (AAA) arbitrator John Wilkinson determined that class arbitration is the most efficient and fair method to resolve the antitrust claims, rejecting Light & Wonder's argument that individual claims were too different to certify as a class.

The case originated in 2020 when the Tonkawa Indians of Oklahoma filed a lawsuit claiming Scientific Games Corp. (now Light & Wonder) overcharged casino operators for card-shuffling devices while maintaining a monopoly that eliminated competition.

Wilkinson emphasized that managing 112 separate arbitration cases would be impractical, noting that courts typically presume numerosity for classes larger than 40 members. He further stated that any individual issues could be adequately addressed within the class action framework.

Light & Wonder faces a similar federal lawsuit in Chicago, where over 1,000 casinos have filed antitrust claims. The company entered the card-shuffling market through its $5.1 billion acquisition of Bally Technology in 2014, which had previously acquired SHFL Entertainment, maker of the Shuffle Master machine.

SHFL Entertainment's aggressive patent defense history includes a $315 million payment to Shuffle Tech, a competitor that claimed SHFL forced it out of business after becoming part of Scientific Games.

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