Algorithmic Pricing Gets Boost in Ninth Cir. Hotel-Casino Ruling

Antitrust attorney Kenneth Racowski was quoted in a Bloomberg Law article examining the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit's decision to dismiss claims that Las Vegas hotel-casinos conspired to inflate room prices using shared pricing software. The article highlights that the court found no violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act absent a clear agreement to restrain trade, even if competitors used the same algorithmic tools. Mr. Racowski commented that the ruling gives businesses legal reassurance to adopt artificial intelligence (AI)-driven pricing strategies without triggering antitrust liability by delineating the role of confidential data usage and information-sharing in determining compliance.

"If you are using pricing software and algorithms, as long as your confidential data is not being used to set pricing for a competitor and your pricing recommendations don't include confidential data from one of your competitors, … there's a much lower risk," he said.

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