Aviator LLC and Flutter have reached a settlement in their legal dispute, bringing an end to a high-profile trademark and copyright case that had been the subject of litigation in the Georgian Court of the First Instance. The agreement establishes a long-term partnership between the two parties, allowing Flutter to distribute Aviator-branded games internationally across its platforms.
The dispute stemmed from claims made by Aviator LLC, a company owned by former Adjarabet operator Teimuraz Ugulava, which alleged that Flutter had infringed on its intellectual property by offering the widely popular Aviator crash game.
The legal case was initiated in August 2023, resulting in a court ruling that ordered Flutter to pay €330 million ($342.5 million) in damages. A source familiar with the proceedings described the penalty as disproportionate to NEXT.io, arguing it did not reflect the financial realities of the gaming industry.
As part of the settlement, Flutter has recognized Aviator LLC’s rights to the Aviator trademark and airplane image, effectively ending all legal proceedings between the two companies. Aviator’s legal representative, Nikoloz Gogilidze, confirmed that both parties had agreed to integrate Aviator-branded games into Flutter’s gaming platforms worldwide.
“Parties agreed on long-term cooperation which involves the integration of Aviator LLC’s or its affiliates’ games on Flutter’s platforms globally,” Gogilidze told iGB. While the financial terms of the settlement remain undisclosed, he noted that certain details of the agreement are confidential.
Despite this resolution, Aviator LLC’s legal battle with Spribe, the developer of the Aviator crash game, remains ongoing. Aviator LLC has filed legal claims against Spribe in multiple jurisdictions, including the European Union Intellectual Property Office and the UK High Court, arguing that the company has unlawfully used its trademarked imagery.
Gogilidze stated that Aviator LLC would continue pursuing its case against Spribe and that a formal update on the legal proceedings would be issued soon.
In response, Spribe released a statement noting its ownership of the Aviator game’s intellectual property. The company claims that its rights are legally protected in numerous countries and criticized what it described as unauthorized third-party attempts to exploit its brand.
“As expected, the popularity and quality of our game has increased the desire of third parties to seek to exploit and unlawfully benefit from our goodwill in the Aviator game,” Spribe stated. The company also warned gaming operators against hosting games that infringe upon its intellectual property and indicated that legal action could be taken against those who do so.
The origins of the dispute date back to 2016-2017, when Ugulava first created the Aviator brand and logo, which were later registered under City Loft LLC, a company solely owned by him. At the time, he controlled both Adjarabet, a major online gaming platform, and a land-based casino named Aviator.
In 2019, Adjarabet launched the Aviator crash game in collaboration with Spribe. City Loft LLC claims it granted Adjarabet permission to use the Aviator branding, but when Ugulava sold a majority stake in Adjarabet to Flutter for £100 million ($123 million), the agreement reportedly did not include trademark rights to the Aviator brand.
Following this, Aviator LLC claimed that Spribe altered its logo while expanding internationally and sought trademark registrations for the imagery in Georgia and the European Union. The dispute escalated in 2022, when ownership of the Aviator trademark and intellectual property was transferred from City Loft LLC to Aviator LLC, prompting legal action to enforce trademark rights.
Spribe has since removed its Aviator crash game from the Georgian market as of January 2024, stating that the region was not a significant source of revenue. However, the company remains engaged in legal disputes over the aviator imagery within the game.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2025/02/03/93944-aviator-llc-and-flutter-settle-trademark-dispute-agree-to-longterm-gaming-partnership
