Appeals court revives New Jersey casino pricing lawsuit
A federal appeals court on Wednesday revived a proposed antitrust class action that alleges major casino operators in Atlantic City, New Jersey, used an AI-powered revenue management platform to coordinate on room prices and overcharge guests.
Plaintiffs alleged hotel owners fed sensitive internal information such as real-time price and occupancy data to software maker Cendyn's platform, known as Rainmaker. The platform used AI-assisted algorithms to deliver pricing recommendations.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled the claims were sufficient to proceed with a lawsuit under federal antitrust law, diverging from an August 2025 decision by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that tossed a similar lawsuit from casino customers in Nevada.
U.S. District Judge Karen Williams had ruled in October 2024 that the plaintiffs failed to show how the New Jersey hotels used the allegedly confidential data after it was provided to Cendyn.
But the 3rd Circuit panel said the plaintiffs should be given a chance to gather technical evidence about the software, writing, "AI software can facilitate collusion by enabling competitors to coordinate prices and share information without ever communicating with each other."
Attorneys for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Representatives from Cendyn, Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts, and Hard Rock did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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