Canada
Pace-O-Matic Announces Major Fraud Suit Against Prominent Pennsylvania Law Firm
Pace-O-Matic (POM), a Georgia-based gaming company that does significant business throughout Pennsylvania, announced a major fraud claim against one of Pennsylvania’s most prestigious law firms.
The lawsuit alleges that Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC, a Pennsylvania-based law firm deceived its client, POM, by taking millions of dollars to represent the gaming company, while at the same time representing a Pennsylvania casino that opposed POM’s operations in the Commonwealth and launched lawsuits against POM. When confronted with the conflict of interest, Eckert first denied the conflict, then swore to a Federal District Court they would not engage in a conflict, then continued to work surreptitiously against POM and POM’s interests.
“Make no mistake about it, Eckert engaged in an egregious conflict of interest where they unethically pitted one client against another,” said Michael Barley, POM’s Chief Public Affairs Officer. “This case and record are clear, and we are hopeful the courts will right the damage that Eckert and its agents have inflicted upon POM, its customers, and countless Pennsylvanians.”
Eckert is a major law firm that has more than 300 lawyers across a network of 15 offices, including Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Boston, Washington, DC, and Richmond, VA.
The lawsuit contends that Eckert “took up arms” against POM on behalf of the Philadelphia-based Parx Casino; that Eckert “actively participated in and covertly manipulated litigation” in Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court adverse to POM’s interests; and that Eckert participated in a campaign intended to “destroy POM’s business by attempting to convince elected and appointed public officials that POM’s games are gambling devices that should be seized and outlawed.” In particular, Eckert used its influence to improperly target the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
When confronted by POM’s allegation that Eckert was double-dealing and had breached its professional duties of loyalty and confidentiality, Eckert denied the claim, while seeking to shield the law firm’s emails with the Parx Casino which would, if made public, reveal that numerous lawyers at Eckert, led by Mark Stewart, co-chair of Eckert’s gaming practice group, were indeed simultaneously taking money from and representing the Parx Casino.
Parx Casino calls itself “the #1 casino in Pennsylvania” and is owned and operated by Greenwood Racing Inc.
Eckert, working at the behest of Parx Casino and its consultants, sought to block Pace-O-Matic from doing business in Pennsylvania.
The suit also alleges that Eckert “violated their most basic fiduciary duties and concealed and misrepresented material facts to POM’s great detriment. As a result, POM is entitled to appropriate damages.
In November 2021, US Magistrate Judge Joseph Saporito, Jr. found that Eckert acted in “bad faith” by seeking to withhold emails that demonstrated Eckert was representing both sides.
Eckert, Saporito ruled, “actively and clandestinely managed and participated in the representation of Parx in the Commonwealth Court litigation against its other client, POM. Moreover, based on our in camera review of the purportedly privileged documents, it did so with full knowledge that the conflict asserted by POM precluded its active and continuing representation of Parx in the Commonwealth Court litigation.”
Saporito continued, “in light of the clear and obviously intentional subterfuge demonstrated in the purportedly privileged documents, we have no difficulty concluding that these documents evidence an intent by Stewart and Eckert to play fast and loose with the courts”.
Eckert appealed Jude Saporito’s ruling, which required Eckert to turn over to POM many internal emails. On July 5, 2022, Federal Judge Jennifer P. Wilson ruled for POM, declaring, “in making inconsistent representations to the court, Eckert has attempted to obstruct the discovery process as to the central issue in this case: whether Eckert breached its fiduciary duty to POM by representing Parx, a party with adverse interests, at the same time that it represented POM.”
POM is a leading developer of legally compliant games of skill in the United States. Its games are played in thousands of small restaurants and bars, along with many social halls such as American Legion and Veterans of Foreign War posts. Our games generated millions of dollars in revenue for businesses and clubs in Pennsylvania last year and its games can be found in thousands of businesses, mostly small mom and pop shops, along with many social halls.
Play’n GO, the world’s leading casino entertainment provider, has today announced a partnership with Canadian operator Loto-Québec, launching the Swedish gaming giant’s games into another Canadian province.
Already active in another Canadian province , this partnership sees Play’n GO’s content available in the province of Québec exclusively with Loto-Québec, a state-owned corporation, where online players now have access to titles such as Tome of Madness.
Magnus Olsson, Chief Commercial Officer, Play’n GO said: “At Play’n GO, we have always been clear in our vision to be active in every regulated market in the world, and this partnership with Loto-Québec is the next step on that journey.
“Our past success in Canada gives us confidence that players in Québec will enjoy the best Play’n GO content, and we look forward to many years of success with Loto-Québec in the province.”
Stéphane Martel, Head of Product and Innovation at Loto-Québec added: “As the sole iGaming operator in Québec, we pride ourselves on offering titles that truly add value to our platform, lotoquebec.com. We are happy to bring Play’n GO games to our players.”
iGaming Ontario has welcomed the decision of the Ontario Superior Court, which found that iGaming Ontario’s model is consistent with the Criminal Code and that iGaming Ontario is conducting and managing igaming in the province.
“We have always been confident in our model and are pleased that the court has ruled in our favour, and that Ontarians can continue to play with confidence in our regulated igaming market,” said Martha Otton, Executive Director of iGaming Ontario.
“Ontario’s model meets the requirements and contributes to the public good by protecting players, their data and their funds, while helping to fund priority public services in Ontario, and bringing well-paid, high-tech jobs and economic development to Ontario,” Otton added.
In dismissing the application brought forward by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK), the Superior Court found that iGaming Ontario is the “operating mind” behind Ontario’s competitive igaming market in accordance with the conduct and manage requirements of the Criminal Code.
iGaming Ontario will continue to conduct and manage igaming as it has since the launch of the regulated market on April 4, 2022.
Bragg Gaming Group
Bragg Gaming Appoints Renowned iGaming Executive Neill Whyte as Chief Commercial Officer
Bragg Gaming Group, a global iGaming technology and content provider, announced that Neill Whyte has been appointed as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), effective 1st May 2024, establishing a new global commercial structure at the Company and bolstering its leadership team.
Whyte brings over 18 years of experience in the iGaming sector, most recently in the role of Chief Commercial Officer at Digital Gaming Corporation’s (DGC), B2B iGaming Division. After joining DGC in early 2020, he was responsible for the commercially successful launch and growth of its content distribution business in the US.
Prior to joining DGC, Whyte held multiple positions in the gaming industry including as Head of Business Development at Isle of Man-based iGaming specialist Apricot Investments, as Board Member at Swedish iGaming product and Lottery content distributor Genera Networks, and in various senior roles over eleven years at leading iGaming content supplier Microgaming, including as Head of Product Channels.
In his new role with Bragg, Whyte will be tasked with leading the Company’s global commercial teams to drive growth across all of the Company’s product verticals which include proprietary online casino content from its Atomic Slot Lab, Indigo Magic and Wild Streak Gaming studios, exclusive content from content partners, HUB a leading casino content aggregation platform, Fuze player engagement, as well as its award-winning player account management (PAM) platform and turnkey solutions.
Matevž Mazij, Chief Executive Officer at Bragg, said: “I am very pleased to be announcing today the appointment of Neill Whyte as Chief Commercial Officer at Bragg. His iGaming product and market knowledge, together with his record in driving growth from developing successful and mutually beneficial commercial partnerships are exceptional.
“As we leverage our broad content and product portfolio to grow in existing and new markets, including in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Europe, Neill’s unique combination of knowledge, skills and experience in this sector are a perfect fit for our ambitions at Bragg.”
Neill Whyte, Chief Commercial Officer at Bragg, said: “It’s an honor to join Matevž and the wider teams at Bragg already in place across North America, Europe and in India. I have been impressed with the depth and quality of the content, product and technology offerings at Bragg, and its ability to rapidly adapt, certify and deploy this content and technology in newly regulated markets is a distinct advantage.
“We also have a huge opportunity to grow our footprint with our existing customers in markets in which we are already established. Our content and product roadmaps are second to none, and I’m planning to get on the road in the coming weeks and months to meet the team and our customers and to start building for the next stage of mutual growth. I can’t wait to get going.”
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