The supplier rejects argument after the monopoly operator American gambling blames illegal gambling activities as the main reason for refusing the contract
EveryMatrix Plaintiff Norsk Tipping for NOK 398 million (£ 34.6 million) after the American operator denied an agreement on the delivery of payment technology with the company.
Everymatrix originally got a contract rather than rival
In Q2 2020, Norsk Tipping announced a tender for companies to become their new payment services provider, where Everymatrix first won the competition in November 2020.
The award of the contract, which will be worth 150 million euros, was then appealed by rival bidder Buypass, a supplier of digital ID and payment solutions.
Buypass, which is 50% owned by Norsk Tipping, was then awarded the tender after a reassessment of the process from Norsk Tipping.
A decision on the lawsuit will reportedly be taken by American courts over the next three to four weeks.
Everymatrix appealed but the appeal was rejected by Hedmark District Court
Originally, Everymatrix appealed the decision to award the contract to Buypass to American courts, but in April 2021 Hedmark District Court rejected the case after finding that Norsk Tipping did nothing wrong in the process of allocating the contract.
Norsk Tipping said that in the second review of the offers, they rejected Everymatrix based on the supplier failing to disclose what subcontractors it would use in the collaboration.
Norsk Tipping also pointed out that Everymatrix's sister company, MoneyMatrix, "participated in illegal gaming activities in USA" according to surveys conducted by accounting giant EY.
The operator said that Moneyatrix had offered its services to offer payments on behalf of non-licensed operators in the country as late as November 2020.
Norsk Tipping decided to reject Everymatrix
Norsk Tipping said: “It was revealed that companies in the Everymatrix group had participated in illegal gaming activities in USA. Norsk Tipping assessed the conditions so that they were obliged to reject Everymatrix from the competition, and after thorough assessments it was therefore decided to reject the company. ”
Everymatrix CCO, Stian Hornsletten made a comment regarding the lawsuit: "The case is about suing Norsk Tipping for lost revenue due to the wrongdoing of us from the acquisition that we originally won."
The Hornsletten continued to reject the conflict of interests from Norsk Tipping in relation to Moneyatrix's activity in the market.
He is fast: “We signed a letter that guarantees that we were not in a conflict of interest. We had already stopped the payment process in USA many years ago. We already had a contract with Norsk Tipping for the casino, where all bingo, scratch cards and casino games were handled by Everymatrix. We already had a very good relationship with Norsk Tipping, ”he added.
Lawsuit is taken out of violation of the procurement rules
In a letter to the Eastern Inland District Court, Everymatrix said: “In Everymatrix's view, the rejection represents a compensation -related violation of the procurement rules, and the other conditions for compensation are also fulfilled.
- Norsk Tipping's decision to reject Everymatrix on the basis of a conflict of interest was taken on the wrong factual basis, and goes anyway further than necessary. The reasoning appears very constructed at all, ”says the conclusion of the statement.
Source: EGR Global