William Hill and Playtech Dispute Settled

The big court face-off between the two gaming giants William Hill and Playtech that was due to commence next week has narrowly been avoided by the two companies announcing yesterday that they have reached agreement that will allow them to avoid lengthy and costly court proceedings.

To understand the nature of the dispute and its resolution we need to venture back to 2009 when William Hill and Playtech partnered to create their joint venture William Hill Online (WHO).

As part of the joint venture deal William Hill has new brands developed for it by Playtech and it also taken over some of Playtech's more established gaming brands under its wing. The joint venture provided Playtech with 29% share and William Hill with 71% in WHO.

Problems started back in February arising when William Hill Discovered that Playtech was in discussions with Ladbrokes Plc. with regards to potential new software agreements between the two companies.

The news caught William Hill by surprise and they hurried to get a court injunction prohibiting Playtech from negotiating further with Ladbrokes, William Hill's biggest rival in the UK market, as it claimed such negotiation and any potential deal with Ladbrokes violated their joint agreement partnership deal.

The parties were due to meet in court next week and present their case before a judge but have managed to reach a new deal that will allow them to continue operating their joint venture and will avoid future legal disputes.

The terms of the resolution allow Playtech to offer its software to other UK operator but only for online uses and are prohibited from offering its software to any land-based gambling businesses.

William Hill will retain its call option and have greater flexibility in the products range and both companies will enjoy a more secure partnership agreement with each other.