Evolution AB has hit back against allegations made by a New Jersey law firm that it has breached US laws by providing gaming services to restricted countries under current trade embargo.
This morning, Bloomberg reported that NJ law firm Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP had filed a complaint by an ‘anonymous competitor’ to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Penned by senior counsel Ralph Marra, Calcagni & Kanefsky had accused Evolution of accepting business from countries that have violated US trade sanctions.
The law firm stated that Evolution had breached the terms of its New Jersey online gambling licence, in which incumbents must abide by Federal laws that determine business violations.
Of distinction, Bloomberg underlined that Marra had filed the complaint on behalf of an ‘unnamed investigator‘, that had been retained by a “US-based competitor of Evolution”.
Marra’s filing stated that the investigator had uncovered that Evolution had provided live dealer games in Singapore and Hong Kong, where online gambling is outlawed, however, the Asian jurisdictions are not under any form of US trade sanctions.
Evolution immediately issued a statement, denying the accusations, directly underlining that it “strictly complies with all applicable US laws and regulations.”
As a games developer and supplier, Evolution stated that it sold its certified content to licensed operators and aggregators, in which it had no control over how games would be used by partners. Furthermore, Evolution held no direct engagement with players or involvement in payment transactions.
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement has yet to reply whether it will launch an investigation of Evolution accusations.
Evolution secured its New Jersey gaming licence following its €1.8 billion takeover of NetEnt AB in 2020. The Stockholm-listed games studio has long stated its intent in becoming the biggest games supplier for North America’s nascent igaming marketplace.
NJ accusations saw media report that Evolution had shed approximately $3bn in market value in the past 24 hours. Yet, Evolution current share price of SEK 1344.4 remains within the Stockholm firm’s six-month price index, that has fluctuated between SEK 1599-to-1277 since April.