Light & Wonder to Pay Aristocrat $127.5M to End ‘Trade Secrets’ Dispute, Pulls Dragon Train Slots
Posted on: January 12, 2026, 04:51h.
Last updated on: January 12, 2026, 04:52h.
- Light & Wonder pays $127.5m to settle Aristocrat dispute.
- Company acknowledges some Aristocrat math used in disputed slots.
- Dragon Train titles pulled worldwide; L&W shares jump on ASX.
Global gaming supplier Light & Wonder (ASX/NASDAQ: LNW) has agreed to pay fellow casino tech heavyweight Aristocrat Ltd. (ASX: ALL) US$127.5 million to settle a long-running intellectual-property dispute, according to a Monday filing to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
Australia’s Aristocrat sued L&W in March 2024, alleging the U.S.-based company’s Dragon Train and Jewel of the Dragon slot games were developed using its trade secrets, including proprietary mathematical models associated with its Dragon Link franchise.
As part of the settlement, Light & Wonder will compensate Aristocrat for misappropriation and infringement and acknowledge that certain Aristocrat math information was used in developing the disputed games.
Light & Wonder has agreed to permanently cease commercialization of these games globally and to make best efforts to remove existing installations,” a joint statement said.
“Light & Wonder has agreed not to make any further use of the Aristocrat math information … and to permanently destroy all documents reflecting that information.”
Shares Jump
The two companies also established confidential procedures to identify and resolve any potential issues involving Aristocrat’s math information in connection with other Light & Wonder “hold and spin” games already on the market or in development. This includes titles for which Light & Wonder had been ordered to produce math models in US litigation.
The settlement resolves litigation in both the Nevada and Sydney and was welcomed by Light & Wonder investors, who had feared a worst-case scenario of of a prolonged trial, wider injunctions, higher damages, and disruption to the company’s broader game portfolio. Shares climbed roughly 16% on the ASX Monday.
“This matter arose when a former employee inappropriately used certain Aristocrat math without our knowledge and in direct violation of our policies,” Light & Wonder CEO Matt Wilson said in a statement.
“This settlement protects the interests of our customers, employees and shareholders, and allows us to continue our focus on developing … content our customers expect – without distraction or disruption,” he added.
Early Defense
Light & Wonder initially described Aristocrat’s complaint as “baseless” and later sought to have the case dismissed, arguing that Aristocrat’s math models were publicly available for purchase on platforms such as eBay and Facebook and therefore could not qualify as trade secrets.
In September 2024, the US District Court for the District of Nevada court granted Aristocrat a preliminary injunction, finding it “extremely likely” that Light & Wonder had misappropriated intellectual property.
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