GGRAsia – Paradise Ent, Sci Games still at odds on Macau market

Paradise Ent, Sci Games still at odds on Macau market

May 23, 2016 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Paradise Entertainment Ltd, a maker of casino electronic games, said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday that “no decision was granted by the Macau courts in favour of Scientific Games Corp/SHFL Entertainment (Asia) Ltd… regarding the right to sell any electronic table game in the Macau market”.

The Paradise Entertainment filing added: “The board of directors of the company noted the news… in which Mr Derik Mooberry, executive vice president and group chief executive of gaming at Scientific Games Corp, stated that the courts have ruled in their favour regarding the right to sell any electronic table game in the Macau market, and the board would like to declare that the allegations made therein are untrue.”

The statement followed a report by GGRAsia featuring comments made by Mr Mooberry at a conference panel during the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2016 in Macau. The session was moderated by GGRAsia.

The Paradise Entertainment filing on Friday stated – with reference to litigation between, on the plaintiff’s side, Paradise Entertainment’s chairman Jay Chun, an entity called Natural Noble Ltd and Paradise Entertainment’s gaming machine brand LT Game Ltd; and on the defendant’s side SHFL Macau – that certain litigation was “pending for trial and, therefore, is pending for the decision to be made.”

Paradise Entertainment had said in a press release issued on May 5 that Macau’s Court of First Instance had “dismissed” a patent-related lawsuit brought by SHFL Entertainment (Asia) Ltd.

The May 5 release from Paradise Entertainment had said SHFL Entertainment Asia had been ordered to pay “all court fees relating to the aforesaid court case”.

GGRAsia on May 5 approached Scientific Games Corp – the parent company of the SHFL Entertainment Asia interests – for comment on the Paradise Entertainment statement of that date, but had received no response on the matter.

In an email to GGRAsia on Monday, a spokeswoman for Scientific Games said – in reference to Paradise Entertainment’s press statement of May 5 – that SHFL Entertainment Asia had voluntarily withdrawn its ‘unfair competition’ claim against Paradise Entertainment and related parties because the objectives it had sought in bringing the lawsuit had been achieved. The position of Scientific Games was that the courts had found no evidence of any SHFL table product being in breach of any patent from Mr Chun or any of his associates, the spokeswoman added.