Australian betting operator Tatts Group has been ordered to repay a $541m judgment it won from the state of Victoria over a cancelled video poker (pokies) machine monopoly.

On Wednesday, the High Court of Australia ruled against Tatts and rival Tabcorp Holdings in their long-running pokies war with the Victorian government. The two operators had held a duopoly on pokies operations in the state outside the Crown Melbourne casino until 2008, when the government announced it would open up the market to competitors in 2012.

Tatts and Tabcorp each sued the state, arguing that they were owed compensation for the unceremonious end of their individual contracts, which covered a combined total of 27,500 machines. The Victorian Supreme Court upheld Tatts’ claim in 2014, awarding the company $541m in damages, while rejecting Tabcorp’s claim for $687m due to the more restrictive language in its contract.

Tabcorp appealed its loss while Victoria appealed the Tatts decision, leading to this week’s date with destiny at the High Court. There is no higher court to which either company can appeal, and thus the curtain has finally fallen on this long-running high-stakes drama.