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Playtech commissioned Black Cube’s investigation, which Evolution has described as a “smear campaign” involving secretly recorded interviews with staff members.
The dossier accused Evolution of supplying games into banned and sanctioned markets, including territories under US sanctions such as Iran and Syria.
The supplier had so far stood behind Black Cube’s investigation, and previously described it as “undertaken lawfully” to understand and verify “concerns of significant regulatory and commercial importance”.
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In addition to illegal gambling, investigators suspect extensive tax evasion, with a projected tax shortfall of about €77.6 million for 2024.
The DSWV, representing licensed sports-betting operators, broadly welcomed the law enforcement action as a necessary response to the illegal market’s growth and associated risks.
“This successful investigation clearly demonstrates the scale that the illegal gambling market has now reached,” said Mathias Dahms, president of the DSWV.
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He points to Macau’s Cotai Strip and Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa as examples of how regulatory discipline can coexist with considerable freedom for developers to innovate. “At its core, Japan’s policies need to be pragmatic and allow for developments to succeed – not constrain them to the point that they risk failure.”
When asked which operator will be willing to take the risk and ultimately win Japan’s next “licence lottery”, Klebanow contends that it depends on how restrictive – or attainable – the regulations and requirements imposed by the government will be.
“If policymakers once again impose onerous policies that limit a property’s profit potential, then most developers will not take the risk of investing upwards of $10 billion in an IR development,” says Klebanow.
