NYX files anti-trust lawsuit against William Hill

The dispute first became public last week, when NYX claimed Hills was threatening to block the deal because it could not secure favourable commercial agreements from Scientific Games, specifically its priority on the OpenBet technology roadmap.

HIlls denied it had asked for any anti–competitive advantages, and said it was still deciding whether to approve the deal or not.

And on Friday, NYX escalated the row, announcing it has filed an anti-trust lawsuit against William Hill in a New Jersey court.

NYX said in a statement: “NYX alleges that its shareholder William Hill has engaged in wrongful conduct in violation of the New Jersey Antitrust Act in attempting to block the Acquisition, which will bring great benefits to the nascent regulated sports betting industry.

“The complaint seeks injunctive relief, treble damages and attorney’s fees for violations of the New Jersey Antitrust Act, and also alleges tortious interference with economic advantage, and tortious interference with contract, and seeks punitive damages.”

In the same announcement NYX said it was pushing the shareholder vote on the SG acquisition back a couple of weeks to 20 December.

The provider also announced it had has entered into an exclusive agreement with Scientific Games for the development and distribution of a new sports betting platform in the US.

Under the terms of the new deal, Scientific Games will commit to make an investment of $30m to fund the development of a new sports betting platform by NYX for use in the US.

Scientific Games will be granted the right to be the exclusive third-party distributor of the platform in all territories within the US where sports betting is legalised for a term of 10 years.

The deal can be terminated if the acquisition of NYX goes ahead as originally planned.

“This agreement represents an important step forward for NYX as we continue to position ourselves for greater expansion in the North American market,” said Matt Davey, NYX CEO.

“As evidenced by the recent positive legislation for online gaming in Pennsylvania, the market potential continues to grow, and Scientific Games provides a fantastic partner to take advantage of these opportunities. We are excited to move forward at pace in this market.”

It is unclear how the dispute will be resolved, with one analyst, who requested anonymity, tellingEGR: “Hills has tried to throw its weight around, but i’m not sure they’ve thought it through.”

Another industry executive speaking off the record, said: “What this does for their relationship with OpenBet going forward is unclear, but it can’t be good”.