There are several casino games which have gained broad use on the Internet in spite of the fact that they're proprietary games. The most widely offered are "Let It Ride" and "Caribbean Stud." Both of these games are often included in the software suites of internet gaming software suppliers and are widely used by many operators out there... either explicitly under those names or other names which mask the actual games.
Now, Shufflemaster, the owner of Let It Ride, is preparing to do battle over the use of the game. Mark Yosoloff, a veteran game developer with Shufflemaster, said that the name and graphics for Let It Ride are trademarked and the "game play" or method of playing the game is patented. "In the past, we've been reactive and have vigorously sought to enforce our game patents," Yosoloff told IGN.
But now, Shufflemaster may go one step further. Yosoloff noted that the company has begun discussions with the Nevada Gaming Commission to discuss the licensing of their game(s) for internet use. "The violations of our patent are so widespread that we're exploring the more proactive stance of licensing Let It Ride as well as our whole portfolio of games," he said. "We envision that, down the road, all of our games will be licensed to both software suppliers as well as operators."
Steve DuCharme, head of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, noted that he's not sure that they're the appropriate agency to deal with this issue. "It simply sounds like an infringement case for the courts," he said. "It seems outside the mandate of our Board and we don't have the wherewithal or the resources to enforce these infringements by Internet miscreants."
Such an effort to curtail the infringements via the courts would certainly be a costly venture for Shufflemaster. And, within a short period of time, the company may well be requesting the ability to license the games to land-based casinos, for example in Australia, which are currently clients of theirs in the terrestrial world but are now planning to go online. That will likely create some interesting dilemmas for Nevada, and DuCharme agrees that the industry is in uncharted territory here.