Caliplay Engages in Legal Battle Against Playtech in Mexico

Caliplay, the Mexican online casino and sports betting brand, has announced it launched legal action against Playtech, the global gaming giant, as it seeks to cancel a partnership between the two companies.

The legal action was filed by Caliplay in the 46th Civil Court of Mexico City and it was brought against Playtech and also its Playtech Software and Playtech Malta subsidiaries. Caliplay was formed as a joint venture between Caliente, the Mexican operator, and Playtech.

Now Caliplay wants to break off its legal relationship with Playtech because the Mexican company says that it has a negative impact on the running of its regulated online casino and sports betting business.

The Mexican Court has already issued several interim orders until the final resolution of the case, including the suspension of some of the rights Playtech held under the agreements with Caliente.

Until the claim is resolved, Playtech must continue to provide software and services to Caliplay. However, the supplier will no longer receive payment from the Mexican operator for its services.

Caliplay released a statement in which it expressed its desire to have the matter resolved as quickly as possible. Moreover, the Mexican operator underlined that it “is committed to maintaining a channel of communication with Playtech through which any disputes can be discussed and resolved.”

A Highly Valued Customer

Playtech did not respond negatively to the news from Mexico, at least not yet. On the contrary, the global gaming supplier described Caliplay as “a highly valued customer” and added that their contractual relationship has been “extremely productive for both parties.”

The company also noted that it has only become aware of the legal proceedings from Caliplay’s announcement and not from the Mexican Court. “Playtech has not yet had access to the court filings in Mexico,” a company statement read. “To the best of its knowledge, it has not yet been served with any proceedings. Playtech is therefore only aware of the matters in Caliplay’s announcement.”

However, the matter has its origins in February, when Playtech tried to obtain clarification from English courts on a disagreement with Caliplay. The case in question referred to whether the latter still held an option to redeem an additional services fee element of the strategic agreement.

The fee amounted to 34.4 million euro for the first six months of 2022 and Playtech said the option is stated as being exercisable for a period of 45 days following the approval of the audited accounts. In Playtech’s view, the option had expired but the operator disagreed.

Source: “Caliplay launches legal action against Playtech in Mexico“. iGaming Business. October 5, 2023.