Automatic Card Shufflers and Antitrust Litigation: An Arbitration Perspective

ABSTRACT This paper examines an American Arbitration Association (AAA) class action proceeding in which Mohawk Gaming Enterprises LLC alleges that Light & Wonder Inc. and L&W Gaming Inc. fraudulently obtained and enforced patents, thereby monopolizing the market for automatic card shufflers and violating Sections 2 and 3 of the Sherman Act. Although centered on the gaming industry, this dispute typifies how patent‐ or monopoly‐related arbitration controversies can arise in various sectors from pharmaceuticals to technology, highlighting broader questions about collective redress of widespread economic and social harms. Central to the dispute is whether class‐wide arbitration is permissible under the AAA Supplementary Rules, which require that putative class members share sufficiently similar arbitration clauses and present common legal and factual issues. The Arbitrator found that the prerequisites of numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of both class representatives and counsel were satisfied. Moreover, despite variations in some arbitration clauses, the Arbitrator deemed them “substantially similar,” rejecting Respondents' reliance on Lamps Plus v. Varela to demand explicit consent from each class member. Concluding that class arbitration is a superior mechanism for resolving widespread claims of inflated pricing, the Arbitrator stayed the Award for potential judicial review, thereby underscoring the evolving landscape of antitrust enforcement and class arbitrations.