According to the Times.co.uk, GVC Holdings may be facing a legal challenge from Canadian sports and entertainment consulting firm 37 Entertainment (37E).
GVC and 37E have reportedly been in protracted talks concerning a joint online gambling venture for the Canadian market, the signing of which was “merely a formality” the report said.
The multi-million dollar legal petition for a “declaratory judgement”, which was submitted to the London Court of International Arbitration, said GVC Holdings had welshed on the deal which would involve the launch of two Sportingbet websites in the Canadian market.
The deal would have seen GVC provide the joint venture with gambling products and services while 37E handled the marketing side on a 50/50 revenue share agreement, to which 37E says GVC agreed to all “essential terms” and had made an “overwhelming number of written and verbal commitments”.
37E said in its petition that despite “the umpteenth confirmation” from GVC, by May “excuses were coming fast and furious” and surmises GVC’s battle for bwin.party was most likely related to the deal not moving any further.
According to a statement from GVC, “This is a claim without merit. No formal agreement was reached with the company. GVC is continuously exploring new relationships… and not all opportunities reach maturity.”