Scientific Games files lawsuit against William Hill
Provider says Hills is conducting the “business equivalent of a shake down” in threatening to block its acquisition of NYX
Scientific Games has joined the legal battle between NYX and William Hill after filing a law suit in a Nevada court that slams Hills recent action’s as the “business equivalent of a shake down”.
The whole dispute became public earlier in November when NYX filed a lawsuit against Hills claiming the bookmaker was threatening to block Scientific Games’ acquisition of NYX because it could not secure favourable commercial agreements from Scientific Games, specifically in regards to OpenBet.
And Scientific Games has now lodged its own suit, similar to NYX’s, claiming Hills’s actions are “anti-competitive extortionate, and coercive”.
“William Hills has made its anti-competitive movies clear,” the suit says. “In discussion after discussion with SG and NYX, William Hill expressed its view that the US sports betting market is a ‘two-horse race’ between William Hill and NYX, in which William Hill currently controls both horses.
“As William Hill puts it, the acquisition would cause William Hill to ‘lose one of its horses’, forcing it to operate in a competitive market.”
SG said it was seeking damages accrued during the negotiations and legal action so far.
Hills has said repeatedly it is not seeking any competitive advantages and is only seeking to protect its relationship with the NYX-owned OpenBet, its chief technology provider.
The operator is also looking to secure an order from a UK court to have all of the legal action take place in the UK. The decision is expected to be made on Thursday.
“US M&A often involves aggressive litigation as a tactic but William Hill will continue to defend its rights as a significant shareholder in NYX,” a William Hill spokesperson told EGR Intel.
The operator also welcomed a recent court order that prevented NYX from pushing back the date of the shareholder meeting where the acquisition will be voted on.