Evolution’s VPN defence under pressure in alleged illegal gambling debacle
CEO defends company culture and dismisses report on investor call as original report includes evidence refuting VPN defence
Evolution’s comeback defence against its alleged illegal operations in black markets and US sanctioned states arguing the use of VPNs duped the supplier, has come under pressure.
Yesterday, the Stockholm-listed supplier giant released a statement which dismissed the report as “anonymous and dubious” and detailed how users in blocked countries were able to access its content.
The live casino supplier said the user was able to access its content via a VPN from an IP address in a blocked country to obtain an IP address in an accepted country.
After the connection to the Evolution lobby was established, the supplier confirmed the VPN was discontinued, leaving the original IP address from the blocked country active.
However, the original report, filed by Ralph Marra of Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP on behalf of unnamed private investigators, includes counterclaims against Evolution’s VPN defence.
The report alleges that a senior Evolution exec with close ties to CEO Martin Carlesund confirmed that the supplier can see all IP addresses, and most importantly, know when they are manipulated through VPNs.
The report further claims that Evolution checks on end user VPN access “only when it might harm [Evolution] financially” such as when a user plays with a different country’s currency which has a lower value.
The aforementioned senior executive reportedly said: “We have a lot [of these] kinds of these frauds that someone from Pakistan will play with Armenian currency… and this is because, you know, the currency value is lower, and they don’t want to pay us, so we make all those matches.”
Speaking on an investor call following yesterday’s statement, Carlesund said: “The methods that are behind the report, to put it mildly, in my view, are very questionable and the report is produced with an equally questionable intent.
“We will not draw any conclusions about our culture based on that report. We have a strong culture in Evolution, a culture that includes constant improvement, every single day striving towards being better,” he added.
Evolution’s shares plummeted a further 16% in trading meaning the supplier has lost $10bn in value since the allegations first surfaced.