Two weeks ago, a lower court judgment in Georgia caught the industry’s attention, suggesting crash games pioneer Spribe and gaming giant Flutter Entertainment are on the hook for €330m. However, the case is much less clear cut than it seems.
On 20 August, Georgia’s Court of the First Instance ruled in favour of Aviator LLC, a business controlled by the former owner of local gambling brand Adjarabet, in a copyright and trademark infringement claim against Spribe and Flutter Entertainment, Adjarabet’s owner since 2019.
It centres around Spribe’s wildly successful crash game Aviator, which launched in 2019. Aviator LLC asserts that the game’s name infringes on its trademarks and the business is therefore claiming damages.
A press release issued by Aviator LLC’s law firm Mikadze Gegetchkori Taktakishvili LLC stated the court “found copyright and trademark infringement and invalidated trademark registrations based on bad faith registration and copyright infringement”. The €330m awarded, incidentally, is equal to the total amount Flutter paid to acquire Adjarabet, industry sources told iGB.
Sources close to Flutter say the operator is surprised by the ruling and is planning an appeal, believing the claim to be “without any merit whatsoever”. It strongly contests the €330m sum awarded.
In Georgia, Aviator only generated around $7.5m in revenue last year, sources close to the case said. Aviator is no longer available in the country after Spribe pulled it in January. The market was never a major source of revenue for the company and it no longer offers its content to local operators.
What is the claim made against Spribe and Flutter?
The case centres around Adjarabet offering Spribe’s crash game Aviator in Georgia and Armenia under an exclusive agreement. This agreement only covered those two markets and did not stop Spribe from launching Aviator – and registering its trademark – elsewhere. It has become a hugely popular and successful game in other markets around the world.
Mikadze Gegetchkori Taktakishvili said Aviator LLC registered the ‘Aviator’ trademark in 2018. The copyrighted image was created in 2017, then trademarked in 2022. According to the law firm last week’s ruling prohibits the use of the name Aviator and the airplane image for crash games and online casino streaming.
However, according to Georgia’s trademark database, both Spribe and Aviator LLC have ‘pending’ registrations for the Aviator name and plane image. Both registrations cover its use for online casino and crash games.
Is Flutter or Spribe the target of the lawsuit?
iGB’s local sources suggest the suit is aimed at Flutter rather than Spribe. They say it relates to a previous shareholder of Adjarabet, although the law firm involved disputes this, asserting that the plaintiff is “not related” to Flutter or Spribe.
All this highlights a lack of clarity surrounding the case. iGB requested access to the court files – or at the very least the statement of facts and summary judgment – but has not yet received anything official.
Taktakishvili did suggest detailed documents would be made available after the court released its reasoned judgement, however.
According to iGB’s local sources Spribe is supporting Flutter in the case but ultimately sees the lawsuit as totally unjustified. The supplier will not comment on the matter beyond one pointed statement released on Linkedin late last week.
“Spribe created Aviator in 2018 and was the pioneer in the creation and popularisation of the crash game sector that has totally reshaped the igaming industry,” it said.
Aviator’s IP is protected worldwide and owned exclusively by Spribe. The game is certified in more than 40 jurisdictions and played by more than 35 million players every month across more than 4,500 brands, it said.
What happens next?
While neither Spribe nor Flutter will speak publicly on the case, it will progress through Georgia’s legal system. Following the Court of the First Instance ruling, there are two more tiers to go. Following the Court of the First Instance, it moves to the Appellate Courts, then the Supreme Court.
Individuals familiar with Georgia’s legal system say this could take up to three years. However, they pointed out the First Instance judgment came after just six to eight months, much quicker than its usual 16-18 month turnaround.
One individual close to proceedings said they were confident Flutter will ultimately prevail. “The facts prove themselves,” they told iGB. “It’s a BS case.”
