An official complaint
Live casino games supplier Evolution has experienced a difficult week after accusations arose that it had operated illegally in certain markets. The company has since issued a rebuttal against those claims, but investigators have now questioned the legitimacy of the supplier’s argument.
The claims initially emerged last week when a Bloomberg News report outlined a complaint made against Evolution to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE). Media reports attributed the complaint to an anonymous US-based competitor of Evolution, which reportedly hired a group of private investigators to look into the matter.
alleged that Evolution operates in numerous illegal markets
The complaint alleged that Evolution operates in numerous illegal markets, including nations that are currently under US sanctions like Syria and Iraq.
In response, Evolution has argued that the investigators were only able to play its games by utilizing “sophisticated technical manipulation” to bypass its strict measures. In another report from Bloomberg, however, the investigators have issued a retort to the supplier’s claims, describing Evolution’s VPN defenses as breachable.
Evolution’s official explanation
Evolution quickly refuted the claims in the complaint. The supplier’s head of investor relations Carl Linton initially sent Bloomberg an email denying the allegations, stating: “Evolution strictly complies with all applicable laws and regulations.”
The Stockholm-listed company then released a statement regarding the matter on Wednesday. The opening paragraph made reference to the anonymous third party that made the official complaint to the NJDGE, stating that this
appears to be an intention to discredit Evolution.”
The statement clarified that Evolution provides its services to B2B aggregators and B2C casino operators. As a result, it doesn’t deal with specific players or their money. The supplier reiterated how it is the responsibility of the given online casino operator to decide on markets and the types of players it allows.
The statement argued that Evolution games are not directly accessible in countries that are under US sanctions. It said: “This is not the case without sophisticated technical manipulation.” The supplier then outlined the complex process by which someone could play its games in restricted countries.
According to Evolution, the investigators could do this through the use of a number of VPNs and the switching of IP addresses.
Questioning the explanation
It didn’t take long for criticism to emerge regarding Evolution’s defense. In a subsequent report from Bloomberg, a spokesperson for the investigators stated that their videos and research showcase the entire process of visiting platforms, playing Evolution games, and withdrawing funds without any form of technical manipulation. Gamblers able to do so were supposedly located in Sweden, Italy, Hong Kong, Spain, France, and Iran.
The investigators have also claimed that Evolution’s VPN defenses are breachable. They allege that Evolution would know if people can navigate around its defenses and play games using VPN-generated IP addresses. This was something that was supposedly confirmed to them by a senior executive at the company. An executive also allegedly told investigators that Evolution operates in countries that have US sanctions.