Aristocrat files parallel suits against Wisconsin machine companies Big Daddy Games and American Entertainment Services over BUFFALO and DRAGON LINK games: complaint allegations

What was filed

Both complaints are Document 1, filed October 19, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin by Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd. (ATA) and Aristocrat Technologies, Inc. (ATI). The first is Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd. v. Big Daddy Games, LLC, Amusement Devices, Inc., and Eric Jacobson, No. 2:26-cv-01940, assigned to Judge Lynn Adelman. The second is Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd. v. American Entertainment Services, Inc. and Ken Grothmann, No. 1:26-cv-01945, assigned to Judge Byron B. Conway. Each complaint runs 18 pages, pleads the same five counts in nearly the same words, and demands a jury trial, and the same lawyers sign both: Guy R. Temple, Daniel E. Kattman, and Heidi R. Thole of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. The Big Daddy complaint shows its photos in the body. The American Entertainment complaint attaches Exhibits A through E (a Facebook page, three Facebook photos, and photos of a machine), which are not freely available on the public docket. On October 20, 2026, both dockets list summonses issued and patent, trademark, or copyright report entries.

The parties, the marks, and the copyrights

The complaints describe ATA as an Australian company based in North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia, that owns, sells, licenses, leases, and distributes electronic gaming machines, and ATI as its U.S. affiliate, a Nevada corporation based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that markets, distributes, licenses, and leases ATA's machines and game software in the United States under license. They say ATI does so only through authorized channels and only to licensed and regulated gaming establishments. The Big Daddy complaint describes Big Daddy Games, LLC as a Wisconsin limited liability company and Amusement Devices, Inc. as a Wisconsin corporation, both based in Menasha, Wisconsin, and says Eric Jacobson is an owner and principal of Big Daddy who, on information and belief, conducts business in Menasha. The American Entertainment complaint describes American Entertainment Services, Inc. as a Wisconsin corporation based in Dousman, Wisconsin, and says Ken Grothmann is an owner and principal of the company who, on information and belief, lives in Wisconsin and conducts business from its Dousman location.

Both complaints say ATA owns a set of U.S. registrations they call the Aristocrat Marks. The Big Daddy complaint lists 23 registrations; the American Entertainment complaint lists 20, leaving out BUFFALO GOLD COLLECTION (No. 5,595,752), BUFFALO GOLD COLLECTION and design (No. 5,848,211), and BUFFALO GOLD REVOLUTION (No. 5,725,225). The 20 in both are AUTUMN MOON (No. 5,515,140), BUFFALO (No. 7,476,658), BUFFALO CHIEF (No. 6,365,349), BUFFALO DIAMOND (No. 6,245,907), BUFFALO DIAMOND 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION (No. 6,150,654), BUFFALO DIAMOND EXTREME (No. 6,674,120), BUFFALO GOLD (No. 5,700,209), BUFFALO LINK (No. 5,404,634), BUFFALO XTREME (No. 5,782,849), GOLDEN CENTURY (No. 4,986,714), HAPPY & PROSPEROUS (No. 5,071,663), PANDA MAGIC (No. 5,304,290), DRAGON LINK (No. 5,360,457) and a stylized DRAGON LINK (No. 7,242,834), two stylized BUFFALO marks (Nos. 7,191,714 and 6,969,559), a BUFFALO and design mark (No. 4,190,788), two buffalo designs (Nos. 4,529,598 and 6,814,977), and a sound mark (No. 7,700,743). USPTO records list all 23 as live registrations owned by Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd., an Australian company, each covering gaming machines in Class 28, with BUFFALO GOLD and the stylized DRAGON LINK also covering game software in Class 9. The USPTO describes the sound mark as men shouting BUFFALO accompanied by the sound of galloping. Both complaints also list the same 14 copyright registrations that ATA says it owns, for works such as the Buffalo Yell sound recording, Buffalo Link and Buffalo Coin artwork, a flaming buffalo head animation, the Buffalo Chief character, and Autumn Moon and Golden Century works.

What the Big Daddy complaint alleges

According to the complaint, in September 2026 ATI learned of a machine at a pub in Dunbar, Wisconsin, that displayed the BUFFALO GOLD REVOLUTION mark on its home screen and displayed the BUFFALO GOLD REVOLUTION video game. It says the machine carried a nameplate on top reading Big Daddy Games and a bill-insertion panel bearing the name Amusement Devices Inc., and it shows photos of both. It alleges, on information and belief, that Big Daddy and Amusement Devices each made or distributed the machine and sold, licensed, or leased it to the pub. It alleges that the machine is designed to appear to offer "highly similar if not genuine" game software and player experience compared with Aristocrat's genuine Buffalo Gold Revolution software, that its software shows a copyright notice in ATA's name beneath the word REVOLUTION, and that it reproduces graphics, music, and sound effects identical or substantially similar to Aristocrat's copyrighted works. On information and belief, it alleges that Big Daddy and Amusement Devices have placed other infringing machines in Wisconsin, that the machines let players place wagers and earn prizes, and that players can cash in points for cash at nearby machines owned and operated by the two companies.

What the American Entertainment complaint alleges

This complaint alleges, on information and belief, that American Entertainment Services makes, distributes, sells, licenses, leases, or services gaming and amusement machines in Wisconsin, and it points to the company's website and its Facebook page under the name American Entertainment. It says a photo posted on or about October 23, 2024, shows a row of machines including a BUFFALO DIAMOND machine at a tavern in Burlington, Wisconsin; a photo posted on or about July 13, 2025, shows a DRAGON LINK machine and a BUFFALO XTREME machine at a public motorcycle event in Wisconsin; and a photo posted on or about January 3, 2026, shows DRAGON LINK and BUFFALO CHIEF machines next to a company-branded cash machine where players redeem tickets for cash. It alleges that in early 2026 ATI found machines bearing the company's name and logo in bars and other establishments in Wisconsin, and that a machine at a bar in Shorewood, Wisconsin, displayed DRAGON LINK on its home screen with game tiles for GOLDEN CENTURY, AUTUMN MOON, PANDA MAGIC, and HAPPY & PROSPEROUS, and carried company nameplates and the telephone number shown on the company's website. It alleges that the accused machines use copies or imitations of DRAGON LINK, AUTUMN MOON, HAPPY & PROSPEROUS, GOLDEN CENTURY, PANDA MAGIC, BUFFALO CHIEF, BUFFALO XTREME, and BUFFALO DIAMOND EXTREME, and it states that, to Aristocrat's knowledge and based on its understanding of where the defendants' machines are placed, it would be illegal for ATI to sell or place its own machines in establishments of that type. On information and belief, it alleges that the machines let players place wagers and earn prizes and cash in points for cash at nearby machines owned or operated by the company, and that the company has placed more of them in Wisconsin.

The individual owners and the counts

Both complaints allege that the individual defendant owned, managed, and controlled the companies' acquisition, programming, placement, leasing, and servicing of machines, and, on information and belief, that he personally selected and approved the game titles and software on the accused machines and directed their placement. They allege he could have stopped the infringement and did not, and that he received a direct financial benefit. Both allege willfulness.

The counts line up in both cases. Count I is ATA's trademark infringement claim under 15 U.S.C. § 1114(1) against all defendants. Count II is ATA's counterfeiting claim under §§ 1114(1), 1116(d), and 1117(b) and (c). Count III, brought by both plaintiffs, is unfair competition and false designation of origin under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a). Count IV is direct copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 501 against the companies, and Count V is contributory and vicarious copyright infringement against the individual owner.

Relief requested

The prayers are the same in substance. Each asks for preliminary and permanent injunctions against use of the Aristocrat marks and against infringing the copyrighted works; impoundment and destruction of the accused machines and of what the complaints call counterfeit marks and unauthorized copies under 15 U.S.C. § 1118 and 17 U.S.C. § 503, with any seizure relief authorized by 15 U.S.C. § 1116(d); an accounting, damages, and profits under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a); for the counterfeiting claim, three times profits or damages and attorneys' fees under § 1117(b) or, at ATA's election, statutory damages under § 1117(c); copyright damages and profits under 17 U.S.C. § 504(b) or statutory damages under § 504(c), including enhanced statutory damages for willful infringement; attorneys' fees and costs; and interest.