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Gambling & Gaming

Contacts

Deborah S. Thoren-Peden
Partner, Los Angeles
T: +1.213.488.7320
Blaine I. Green
Partner, San Francisco
T: +1.415.983.1476
JiJi Park
Partner, Los Angeles
T: +1.213.488.7588
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Pillsbury provides cutting-edge guidance on traditional challenges and emerging issues, helping clients innovate and utilize creative business models and strategies while ensuring their compliance with all applicable laws.

From brick-and-mortar casinos, social games and online mobile gambling, to contests, sweepstakes and gambling-like activities, we provide comprehensive guidance to industry leaders, brands known throughout the world, luxury and business-class customers, including Native American tribes and private companies doing business on tribal lands. We are adept at navigating clients through federal, state and tribal laws to determine legality and achieve compliance in different jurisdictions.

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Our team assists many clients with:

  • Advertising and promotions
  • Anti-money laundering
  • Business formation, structuring and finance issues
  • Construction counseling and disputes
  • Contests and sweepstakes
  • Corporate, including securities, mergers & acquisitions and tax matters
  • Development, leasing and financing of casinos for tribal and nontribal clients
  • Dispute resolutions and litigation
  • Employment and benefits
  • Finance
  • Fintech, payments and Blockchain
  • Hospitality
  • Intellectual property
  • Internet & interactive entertainment
  • Internet & social media
  • Licensing arrangements
  • Mobile apps
  • Native American law
  • Privacy policies, terms of use and conditions
  • Regulatory compliance
  • Tax
  • Technology
  • Tournaments
  • Tribal gaming

We represent clients across industry segments, including:

  • AML software companies
  • Casino-like social games
  • Casinos and casino operators
  • Construction firms and real estate developers
  • Cruise lines
  • Fantasy sports leagues
  • Gaming equipment manufacturers
  • Hotels and hospitality
  • Internet gaming
  • Internet operators, vendors, and other companies that invest in, or provide services to, gaming
  • Lotteries
  • Mini-games
  • Native American rights, lands, gaming and gambling interests
  • Payment and cash access companies
  • Video gaming companies
  • Web applications

Representative Experience

  • Represented Manticore Games Inc. in its Series A preferred stock financing led by Benchmark capital.
  • Defended Valve Corporation, the Seattle-based video game development and digital distribution company and operators of the Steam gaming platform, against patent infringement claims.
  • Represented Everi Holdings Inc., formerly Global Cash Access Holdings Inc., a provider of interactive, multimedia communications and data processing services and products, in various technology and commercial deals, including four acquisitions totaling $1 billion+.

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  • Advising on and representing clients in the development, financing, operation and regulation of casinos for tribal and nontribal clients.
  • Provided general counseling to clients related to intellectual property issues surrounding online gaming and related social media companies, including protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights.
  • Advertising & Promotions Law
    • Advised on the UK’s first £1 million prize promotion.
    • Handled global and pan-EU marketing campaigns, new brand/product launches and comparative advertising disputes.
    • Advised numerous major car brands, including BMW, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, GM, Mazda, Vauxhall and Chevrolet on advertising, websites, promotions, new model launches and substantiation of claims.
  • Interactive Entertainment
    • Representing Valve Corporation, the Seattle-based video game development and digital distribution company and operator of the Steam gaming platform, in defending against patent infringement claims.
    • Represented a major graphics chipmaker in patent disputes relating to memory access techniques in gaming consoles.
    • Helping software-focused companies protect new game mechanics, novel UI design, and battery-friendly, low-latency mobile applications.
    • Represented an igaming company that offers games of chance betting with Counterstrike: Global Offensive (an online multiplayer game) skins (a virtual item in that game).
    • Represented Amazon Inc. as special tax counsel in its $970 million acquisition of Twitch, a video platform for video games described as the “ESPN of the video game industry.”
    • Represented a variety of hotel casino owners and operators, including SLS Vegas and Wyndham, in purchase, sale, and management deals.
    • Represented a publicly traded payment processor in a criminal grand jury investigation regarding the processing of transactions for “e-wallets”.
    • Represented SBE Entertainment Group in a joint venture with Stockbridge Real Estate Funds to acquire the legendary Sahara Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas from Gordon Gaming Corp. for $400 million.
    • Represented developer IDM in the Crown resort and casino project in Las Vegas estimated at $5 billion.
    • Represented Wyndham Nassau Resort & Crystal Palace Casino within the Hotel in Baha Mar Resort Casino in its selection as the preferred bidder as hotel operator.
  • Regulatory and Legal Compliance
    • Advising clients and ensuring they comply with online gambling laws regarding online sports betting, state gambling and illegal lottery laws.
    • Representing clients on gaming and gambling issues before federal agencies including the DOJ, U.S. Postal Service, Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission.
    • Represented money/check processor in connection with a DOJ investigation of money laundering and online gambling; no criminal or enforcement action was ultimately pursued.
  • Native American Law
    • Negotiating Class III Gaming Compacts on behalf of Indian tribes with the State of California.
    • Advising tribes on compact interpretation and implementation issues, disputes and litigation with state and federal gaming authorities as well as compliance with federal rules and regulations, including minimum internal control standards.
    • Counseling tribal gaming regulatory agencies on investigations and compliance with tribal gaming ordinances.
    • Defending tribes against the U.S. government’s allegations that certain gaming operations violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and the Johnson Act.
    • Defending tribes against casino patrons’ tort claim, and establishing tort claims procedure for resolution of patron claims.
    • Negotiated and obtained a $50 million financing for a casino expansion where the construction loan was guaranteed by another tribe instead of the standard approach of institutional bank financing.
    • Negotiated on behalf of Indian tribes Class III Gaming Compacts with the State of California.
    • Advised tribes on compact interpretation and implementation issues, disputes, and litigation with state and federal gaming authorities.
    • Advised tribes on compliance with federal rules and regulations, including minimum internal control standards.
    • Counseled tribal gaming regulatory agencies on investigations and on compliance with tribal gaming ordinances.
    • Defended tribe and its casino against patrons’ tort claims arising from gaming operation.
    • Represented tribe in securities offering for financing casino expansion project.
    • Drafted ordinances and resolutions related to elections, enrollment, and allocation of gaming revenues.
    • Defended a tribe against claims by financing company and gaming machine vendors.
    • Advised tribes and casino management on employee relations issues, disputes and litigation.
    • Defended a tribe and its casino against wrongful termination and related claims by former employees.

Practice Area Highlights

  • Pillsbury’s Gambling and Gaming team is recognized for Excellence in Gaming Development 2017 by Corporate LiveWire.
  • The Internet & Social Media Law. The blog covers interesting business and legal issues and upcoming events in the virtual world, social media and video game industries.
  • Pillsbury’s Native American Law practice has been repeatedly ranked by Chambers USA – Native American Law – Nationwide since that category’s inception.

Resources

Factsheet

Legal Issues with Augmented Reality

Factsheet

Gamblification

Factsheet

The Legal Implications of Social Media Marketing & Advertising

Factsheet

Virtual Goods – Developing and Protecting a Business Model

Blog

Internet & Social Media Law

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