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Aristocrat game CEO Hector Fernandez told CNBC that digital opportunities are critical to the company’s future, as is protecting its intellectual property.
Fernandez said he favors competition, but added that “one of the things that is essential for us is to aggressively defend the intellectual property that we create.”
The global game maker has sued competitor Light & Wonder in federal court, accusing it of copyright infringement and claiming that Light & Wonder’s “Dragon Train” game was too similar to its own Dragon Link games.
The Nevada District Court agreed and issued a preliminary injunction against Light & Wonder in late September. Light & Wonder said it disagreed with the decision, but fired one of the designers who worked on the game.
Light & Wonder told CNBC that it has complied with the court order and plans to modify Dragon Train and relaunch it in the future.
Shares of casino game makers have generally outperformed those of casino operators this year. Light & Wonder shares were up about 37% year to date through the September court ruling. This is another 17% increase this year.
Shares in Aristocrat, traded in Australia, are up 41% this year.
Fernandez also told CNBC that the company is focusing on digital opportunities as part of its overall strategy. Although online casino gaming, known as iGaming, is only legal in the United States in six states, its gross gaming revenue is growing almost as fast as sports betting, according to the organization. American Gaming Association.
FanDuel, the nation’s market share leader in iGaming, said at an investor day in September that its most popular online games are typically brands that players play in brick-and-mortar casinos.
Fernandez told CNBC that his priority is to create gaming content that appeals to players and that convinces his customers that these games will work in the casino.