NYX files anti-trust lawsuit against William Hill

NYX Gaming Group has filed an anti-trust lawsuit against William Hill over alleged “wrongful conduct” regarding the proposed acquisition by Scientific Games.

In September, Scientific Games agreed a deal to acquire NYX for approximately CAD$775m (€524.6m/US$611m), in a deal it said would lead to the creation of a “global digital gaming and lottery powerhouse”.

However, William Hill last week said it would look in detail at the deal in regards to contractual rights it obtained when it enabled NYX to purchase OpenBet, but denied that any “anti-competitive measures” had been requested or had been demanded.

William Hill owns and controls 6,800,000 ordinary shares of NYX and £80m of preference shares of NYX Digital Gaming

NYX has responded to the announcement by filing an action in the Chancery Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey in the US against William Hill Steeplechase Limited and William Hill Plc.

NYX has alleged that William Hill has engaged in “wrongful conduct in violation of the New Jersey Antitrust Act in attempting to block the acquisition”, which it said 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,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, NYX has also announced that it has secured an exclusive agreement with Scientific Games regarding both the development and distribution of a new sports betting platform in the US market.

Under the commercial agreement, Scientific Games will commit to an investment of US$30m to fund the development of the platform by NYX for use in the US.

Scientific Games will act as the exclusive third-party distributor with respect to the new platform in all territories within the US where sports betting is legalised for a term of 10 years, beginning with the first commercial deployment in the country.

Matt Davey, chief executive of NYX, said: “This agreement represents an important step forward for NYX as we continue to position ourselves for greater expansion in the North American market,

“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.”