A US court has ruled in favor of Evolution, granting its motion to compel arbitration in its ongoing legal dispute with Light & Wonder over the alleged misappropriation of trade secrets.
The case centers on Evolution’s accusations that Light & Wonder used confidential information related to the popular Lightning Roulette game to develop its own competing product.
The dispute stems from a collaboration that began in 2018 when Evolution entered into discussions with Light & Wonder to create a land-based version of its successful online game, Lightning Roulette.
As part of this process, Evolution shared confidential information, including the game’s proprietary mathematics, under a strict non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for evaluation purposes only. The two companies signed a formal agreement in 2021.
According to the court documents, Evolution alleges that Light & Wonder later attempted to terminate this agreement and subsequently launched a new land-based title called Roulette X.
Evolution claims this new game features similarities to Lightning Roulette that would only be possible if Light & Wonder had used the protected, confidential information shared during their partnership.
In response, Evolution filed a motion to compel arbitration, arguing that the dispute should be settled by a neutral, out-of-court third party, as stipulated by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) rules incorporated into their original agreement.
The court has now granted this motion, ordering that the parties must promptly submit their claims to arbitration for a legally binding decision. Certain exhibits from the case have been sealed, and both parties are required to return to court for a status conference on October 30.
