Bingo operator alleges retaliation

Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2002 | 11:07 a.m.

Planet Bingo LLC, which filed a patent infringement lawsuit against GameTech International, accused GameTech of retaliating against Planet Bingo for filing the suit.

Planet claims GameTech unilaterally changed on Jan. 14 the electronic permutations or gaming devices that verify winning bingo cards in Planet Bingo's game Multiprogressive Bingo game or MPBingo at the Sandia Casino in New Mexico.

When playing MPBingo, whether a player has a winning bingo card is determined using electronic permutations or "perms" that GameTech provides. The "perms" allow for instant verification of winning bingo cards. Without the "perms," winning bingo cards must be verified manually, which can take 10 minutes or more.

Planet Bingo alleged GameTech, which provided its "perms" at no charge since March 1999, changed the "perms" at Sandia Casino on Jan. 14 to retaliate against Planet Bingo for filing the patent infringement suit.

Rancho, Calif.-based Planet Bingo had sued in November to stop Reno-Based GameTech from selling a game, "Rainbow Bingo," that allegedly embodies Planet Bingo's two bingo game patents. GameTech is also accused of displaying and marketing the patents at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas from Oct. 1-3.

Planet Bingo, which said it received numerous complaints from customers since the switch to manual verification on Jan. 14, said it lost at least 14 percent of its business by Jan. 16 and fears that if these losses continue, Sandia Casino will discontinue its contract.

Planet Bingo said it also fears that its lack of access to GameTech's "perms" could cause a failure of pending contract negotiations with three Las Vegas casinos and the Sycuan Casino in Southern California.