US District Court approves US$31 million settlement agreement over Aristocrat social casino games
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A US District Federal Court has approved a settlement agreement between Aristocrat Leisure Limited and three plaintiffs that will see the Australian slot machine giant pay US$31 million to settle two lawsuits related to its online social gaming platforms.
Aristocrat revealed last May that it had reached an agreement in principle to settle lawsuits brought against it and Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) alleging that certain games offered by Big Fish Games, Inc were games of chance prohibited by Washington law.
The settlement related to the platforms Big Fish Casino, Jackpot Magic Slots and Epic Diamond Slots, all offered by Big Fish Games, Inc, which Aristocrat acquired from CDI in January 2018.
Mediation talks completed early last year provided for a total of US$155 million to be paid into a settlement fund of which Aristocrat would pay US$31 million and CDI pay US$124 million, pending approval by the US Federal District Court for the Western District of Washington. That approval has now been granted.
“The District Court has now approved the agreement and terms of settlement. The amount that Aristocrat has paid in settlement of the two lawsuits is US$31 million and is consistent with the relevant item included in Aristocrat’s reported results in its 2020 Annual Report,” Aristocrat said via an ASX announcement on Tuesday.
Aristocrat last year reported a 31.3% increase in revenues from its digital segment, including social casinos, to US$1.61 billion.
