An arbitrator has approved class action status for over 100 casinos in their litigation against gaming device manufacturer Light & Wonder regarding alleged monopolistic practices in the card-shuffling machine market.

American Arbitration Association (AAA) arbitrator John Wilkinson ruled that the casinos can proceed as a single class, rejecting Light & Wonder's argument that individual claims were too diverse for class certification.

"Class arbitration is by far the fairest and most efficient method for resolving the antitrust claims of proposed class members," Wilkinson stated in his decision.

The case originated in 2020 when the Tonkawa Indians of Oklahoma filed a lawsuit claiming Scientific Games Corp. (now Light & Wonder) overcharged for card-shuffling devices and maintained a monopoly that forced casinos to buy their products.

Wilkinson emphasized that managing over 100 separate arbitrations would be impractical and violate AAA's principles of cost-effective proceedings. He noted that while individual issues exist among class members, they are "narrow" and can be 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, the original Shuffle Master manufacturer.

SHFL Entertainment had a history of aggressive patent defense and was previously ordered to pay $315 million to competitor Shuffle Tech after allegedly forcing them out of business, following their integration into Scientific Games.

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