DUBLIN (Reuters) – Irish betting giant Flutter Entertainment said on Thursday it would appeal a $330 million judgment against it and its partner Spribe in Georgia, over a trademark dispute brought by a former shareholder in its Georgian subsidiary Adjarabet.
A Georgia court last week awarded former Adjarabet shareholder Aviator LLC $330 million in a trademark and copyright lawsuit against Flutter and Spribe related to the online game “Aviator,” Aviator LLC said in a statement.
Flutter expressed surprise at the ruling in an emailed statement on Thursday and strongly doubted the basis and amount of the judgment. The company announced that it would appeal the ruling.
“The amount of damages demanded is outrageous and has no connection whatsoever with the actual economic viability of the property in question,” Flutter said in its statement. The claim was completely unfounded, it said.
According to Flutter, the Aviator game generated around $7.5 million in revenue in Georgia last year.
Neither Flutter nor Aviator have specified the amount of damages against Flutter and the amount of damages against Spribe, the maker of online gambling products.
Flutter, which operates in more than 20 countries under brands such as FanDuel, Betfair and Paddy Power, acquired 51% of Adjarabet in 2019 and the remaining 49% in 2022.
(Written by Conor Humphries; edited by Jan Harvey)