Just a few days ago, on December 12, American gambling giant Penn Entertainment was sued by a technology company in the Federal Court of New Jersey. The plaintiff, Single Action Bet Tech LLC, accused Penn's "Hollywood Casino" mobile platform of using betting technology that infringed on their patents. In plain terms, Penn is accused of using someone else's "single-click" betting technology without paying for it.
The core of this lawsuit is about how "fast" betting can be on mobile phones. The traditional process involves several steps: clicking here, confirming there, which is quite troublesome. The system described in the patent in question claims to allow users to "get it done in one click"—with just one tap, identity verification, payment confirmation, location verification, and bet execution are all automatically completed in the background, creating a seamless experience tailored for mobile screens.
A lawsuit directly accuses the Hollywood Casino App of infringement
According to the complaint, the defendants include Penn Entertainment and its subsidiary responsible for digital business, Penn Interactive Ventures. Single Action insists that the "Hollywood Casino" mobile application and related web services infringe at least one claim of each of their two patents. They emphasize that they own the complete rights to the patents and have never issued a license to Penn.
Interestingly, the plaintiff revealed that this was not a sudden attack. The two parties had been in contact since December 2024, had sent notification letters, and had meetings, but they never reached an agreement on a licensing deal. Based on this "foreplay," Single Action accuses Penn of "willful infringement," as they were fully aware of the infringement. Therefore, they not only demand compensation for damages, interest payments, and legal fees but also request the court to recognize this as willful infringement, which, if established, could triple the damages.
"One-step" vs. "Multi-step operation": A dispute over patent technology
So, what's so special about this "single-click" technology that has led to the lawsuit? The patent document complains that many real-money betting mobile games require users to click multiple times to select the betting amount, confirm the bet, and start the game. Accurate clicking on a small mobile screen is already challenging, and with more steps, users may lose patience and not want to bet.
Their solution is to compress these steps into a single interaction. The system automatically checks the user's login status, confirms whether the balance is sufficient, verifies the bettor's physical location, and then processes the bet. One of the patents also mentions that the device can be configured with improved data input keys, making it easier for players to bet according to strategies like "Martingale" and even detect strategies and suggest the next betting amount.
The lawsuit is pending, and industry design may be affected
This lawsuit comes at a crucial time, as Penn's digital business has been adjusting recently. At the beginning of this month, they just changed the "ESPN Bet" brand to the more vigorously growing "theScore Bet." The market performance of the "Hollywood Casino" app has always been better than ESPN Bet, making iGaming increasingly central in Penn's digital strategy.
How will this lawsuit end? Whether it will be dismissed, settled, or go to a jury trial is uncertain. If settled, it might just involve negotiating a licensing fee or modifying the technology; if a judgment is made, it could directly affect how all operators design mobile betting processes. Regardless, it highlights the core details of online gambling that affect user experience: interface design, backend automation, and patent ownership. After all, in this industry, speed and simplicity are directly linked to user engagement, and it's worth keeping an eye on related developments on the PASA official website.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gambling industry news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
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