What is the Playtech vs Evolution Scandal?
In a strange turn of events, two of the biggest game providers in gambling, Playtech & Evolution, have become embroiled in a corporate scandal fit for a TV mystery.
We break down just what on earth is going on, and what it means, if anything, for some of your favourite live casino games!
The Background
The world of game and software development in the online gambling industry is not necessarily known for mystery, intrigue and courtroom drama. But here we find ourselves after many of the scandalous details were unveiled last week.
The top line? Playtech have been sensationally revealed to be behind the report that exposed Evolution’s less than perfect business practices, especially in unlicensed territories!
This drama has been going on for over half a decade, after the initial report was submitted. Evolution have been tied up in a New Jersey court defending themselves and counter suing the entities behind the report. This includes the firm behind the report (Black Cube), as well as the lawyers representing them. However, until last week, no one, not even Evolution, knew who was behind the initial report.
Evolution’s problems extend beyond the jurisdiction of New Jersey. Our UK Gambling Commission, on the back of similar suspicions about unregulated and black market dealings, launched an inquiry this year into the licence that they hold in this country. So far it doesn’t appear that their licence to operate in the UK will be withdrawn, but they are on some quite shaky ground!
And now we are to find out that all their problems started because their biggest competitors compiled a secret report to take them down!
What do the companies themselves say?
Of course, after the identity was revealed to be a competitor, a spokesperson for Evolution did not mince their words:
“It is deeply disturbing to learn that one of our competitors has gone to such extraordinary lengths to damage our business and reputation by hiring Black Cube and paying them over £1.8m to fabricate a report they knew would have extremely harmful repercussions..”
The juicy back and forth continued with Playtech responding to those comments by Evolution, and standing by its actions wholeheartedly. In response, a Playtech spokesperson said:
“PTS (Playtech Software Limited) commissioned an independent business intelligence firm to investigate credible and repeated concerns raised by operators, suppliers and regulators about Evolution’s activities in prohibited and sanctioned markets, and its supply to unlicensed operators in regulated markets.
“The investigation was undertaken lawfully to better understand and verify concerns of significant regulatory and commercial importance.”
The reputations of both companies have been rocked by the revelations. Both have seen their share price take a hit, and the fall out continues to be up and down.
What’s our verdict?
As admirers of both their games content, it’s hard to take sides. Like watching parents get a divorce, the whole thing seems a little sad and avoidable with neither of them looking that great, to be honest. With no real skin in the game when it comes to how they run their respective businesses, we would say that we prefer to let the games do the talking.
However, if Evolution have been pushing acceptable regulatory boundaries, then we would urge them to clean themselves up and get their house in order. As advocates for safe and fair gambling in a regulated environment, you can’t really be having one of your most innovative gaming providers dallying with the dark side! Playtech may seem a bit lame for what they’ve done, but it could be to the benefit of players in the UK!
Alongside other top brands like Pragmatic Play and OnAir, Playtech and Evolution are true market leaders and our players love their games.
In fact, both have been really instrumental in driving forward the revolution in the live casino game show space. We’ve linked to our report on that, by our resident games content expert Pandora Hughes. Finally, check out our live casino sites page if you want to learn more about this exciting part of the online gambling world!
