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GAN Announces Appointment of Leading Intellectual Property Litigation Firm to Drive Licensing & Enforcement of US Patent

September 14, 2018

LONDON & DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- GAN plc (“GAN” or the “Company”), an award-winning developer and supplier of enterprise-level B2B Internet gambling software and services in the United States, today announces the Company has awarded a mandate to specialist intellectual property litigation firm Irwin IP LLP (“Irwin IP”) in Chicago, IL to implement a US patent licensing and enforcement program principally targeting operators in the regulated intra-State Internet gambling markets of New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware and Pennsylvania which are currently infringing upon the Company’s US-patented intellectual property rights.

The commencement of GAN’s Patent licensing program was announced on May 30, 2017 following an unsuccessful ‘ex parte’ (anonymous) legal challenge to GAN’s US patent number 8,821,296, reinforcing the value of GAN’s US-patented technology for linking land-based casino reward cards to online gambling accounts.

Following the completion of the £7.5M Equity Placing in June 2018 and the appointment of Irwin IP LLP, the Company will now proceed to assert its rights over US-patented intellectual property and seek commercial settlements for prior and continuing infringements by regulated Internet gambling operators and/or relevant technology vendors, who have been substantially and progressively placed on notice of the Company’s US intellectual property rights.

A further update will be provided at GAN’s H1 2018 interim results on September 28, 2018.

Highlights

  • GAN’s US Patent was awarded in September 2014 and this US-patented technology has been licensed by GAN to many of the largest US casino operators including Station Casinos, Chickasaw Nation, MGM Resorts, Ocean Resort Casino and Parx Casino for both Simulated Gaming (social casino gaming) and regulated real money Internet gambling in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania
  • Irwin IP is an experienced intellectual property litigation firm in Chicago, Illinois with a substantial track record in the US casino gaming Industry securing injunctions and/or commercial licensing agreements with major US casino equipment manufacturers and/or US casino operators
  • Irwin IP’s accomplishments include representing a mid-sized software company in a three-week jury trial culminating in a $16 million jury verdict; helping a small, disruptive start-up defeat patent infringement and false advertising claims asserted by a large, multi-national company; and securing a permanent injunction and $7.3 million jury award in an offensive gaming patent infringement matter protecting a $100-million-dollar-a-year product line

Patent licensing and/or settlement awards represent a potentially high-margin incremental income stream for GAN.

FAQ’s about Internet Gambling ‘Platform’ & US Patent

  • For investors and Industry analysts: The core of a “Platform” from both a technical and regulatory standpoint is the Player Account Management System i.e. where highly sensitive customer and player activity data is stored and processed. Other elements of Platform can include a sportsbook transaction engine, gaming content integrations, payment services, marketing services, trading services and other ancillary activities. However, the core functionality to describe B2B systems and services as a 'Platform' is the Player Account Management System. This is also the layer of B2B activity which tends to require regulatory approval as a 'Platform' since it is the focal point of data and player security. Therefore, without the Player Account Management System, a service provider might be offering very valuable B2B functionality but not in the strictest sense a 'Platform' (source: Regulus Partners, an international gambling advisory group).
  • All US casinos operate an on-property rewards program (also called ‘loyalty programs’) where visitors to the land-based casino can enrol in a loyalty program, collect a rewards card and accumulate reward points from real money gambling on-property. Typically, US casinos have more than half of their active on-property patrons enrolled in these reward programs.
  • GAN’s US-patented technology principally permits US casino operators’ carded patrons to link their reward card to their online gambling account in order to identify themselves as a patron of the land-based casino and a member of their retail rewards program.
  • The Patent was awarded to GAN plc in September 2014 by the US Patent & Trademark Office (“USPTO”) with the Patent reissued under the same Patent number by the USPTO on March 17, 2017 following an unsuccessful ex parte challenge brought by an anonymous US Industry actor.

Notes:

1 https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/GAN/13241403.html

GAN | Overview

GAN is a leading B2B supplier of Internet gambling enterprise software-as-a-service solutions to the US land-based casino Industry. GAN is listed on the ESM Market of the Irish Stock Exchange and the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker: GAN

The Company has developed an Internet gambling enterprise software system, GameSTACK™, which it licenses principally to land-based US casino operators as a turnkey technology solution for regulated real-money Internet gambling encompassing Internet gaming & Internet sports betting and/or virtual Simulated Gaming.

GAN has fourteen (14) casino operators as clients of Simulated Gaming coast-to-coast across the US and Internationally; two (2) clients of real money Regulated Gambling in New Jersey; one (1) client of real money Regulated Gambling in Pennsylvania and ten (10) clients of real money Regulated Gambling in Europe.

The Internet Gambling System, developed in London under a UK Gambling Commission license, is certified to the highest technical standards currently required by gambling regulators. In April 2017 GAN was granted a Casino Service Industry Enterprise license by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement being GAN’s first privileged gaming license in the United States. In May 2018, the US Supreme Court repealed PASPA and GAN confirmed the H2 launch of sports betting for US clients integrated into GAN’s enterprise software platform. In September 2018 GAN launched Internet sports betting in New Jersey, available as an integrated option alongside Internet gaming.

For more information please visit www.GAN.com

About Irwin IP LLP

Irwin IP specializes in intellectual property and technology-related litigation. Irwin IP’s founder, Barry Irwin, has been recognized as a ‘Super Lawyer’ and ‘Leading Lawyer’ each year for nearly two decades, and was recently named one of the Top 100 lawyers in Illinois, one of only eight intellectual property attorneys.

Barry and several of the other senior Irwin IP attorneys spent decades working at one of the most prestigious law firms in the country where they had a long history of achieving successful results in the gaming industry for companies like IGT, Action Gaming and Shuffle Master.

For more information please visit www.IrwinIP.com

GAN
Dermot Smurfit, +44 (0) 20 7292 6262
Chief Executive Officer
[email protected]
or
US Investors:
The Equity Group
Adam Prior, 212-371-8660
[email protected]
or
UK & Ireland Investors:
Walbrook PR
Paul Cornelius, +44 20 7933 8780
[email protected]
or
Davy (Nominated Adviser, ESM Adviser and Joint Broker)
John Frain / Barry Murphy, +353 1 679 6363
or
Liberum (Joint Broker)
Neil Patel / Cameron Duncan, +44 (0) 20 3100 2000

Source: GAN plc