Ainsworth Game Technology has agreed to pay Aristocrat AU$8.5 million in instalments over three and a half years under a patent licence and settlement deal that took effect immediately. The arrangement gives Ainsworth rights to use certain Aristocrat patents in Australia and settles potential claims tied to the historic use of those patents in the local market.
In a company-announcements.afr.com ASX announcement, Ainsworth said the talks followed Aristocrat’s success in Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Patents [2025] FCAFC 131, a Federal Court case on whether patents for delivering feature games on electronic gaming machines were patentable. Ainsworth said it began discussions after that ruling.
The core of the agreement covers Aristocrat’s Australian gameplay-feature patents, including the Hold & Spin family. The licence applies to Ainsworth-branded electronic gaming machines in Australia, including when the company makes, sells, services, upgrades and converts those machines, and it also extends to Ainsworth-branded online and mobile games in the Australian market.
Ainsworth may also manufacture and service products through third parties. Its customers, distributors and venues are automatically licensed to use, operate, service and resell units supplied during the term, which Ainsworth said gives them certainty of title and continuity.
The deal also gives Ainsworth a royalty-free licence to Aristocrat’s responsible-gaming patents. Those patents cover digital wallets, account-based play, player limits, self-exclusion, player messaging and AI-based risk detection, and the licence lasts until each patent expires. Ainsworth said those expiries are expected to run well beyond the broader agreement.
The arrangement runs both ways. Aristocrat received a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence over all of Ainsworth’s patents for Aristocrat-branded products in Australia, and both companies released each other from claims over past use of the licensed patents. They also agreed to a mutual non-challenge covenant.
Ryan Comstock, Ainsworth’s chief executive, said the agreement gave the company the certainty needed to push ahead with strategic growth initiatives in Australia.
