Playtech’s plan to sue Realtime Gaming and former employee Veliks in England has been stopped after the Court of Appeal ruled that the case does not belong in the UK. The decision cancels an earlier order that allowed the lawsuit to go ahead, meaning any further legal action will now have to take place in another country, most likely Latvia.

The dispute began after a former OnAir Entertainment employee made dramatic claims that Veliks had accessed confidential information while working for Realtime’s live casino arm. Veliks previously worked for Playtech’s Euro Live Technologies from October 2020 to July 2021. The story was first reported by NEXT.io and supported with screenshots and other sources.

Allegations of Misuse of Confidential Information

Playtech told the court that Veliks used login details from his previous job to access an internal Playtech system. The company said he looked at confidential information about unreleased games and then shared it with Realtime Gaming. Playtech also claimed that this information was later used to help create two games called Travel Fever and Diamond Rush Roulette.

But the Court of Appeal did not decide whether any of these accusations are true. Instead, the judges focused only on whether the case should be handled in England. They examined where the alleged harm actually happened and which country’s laws should be used to judge the matter.

Lord Justice Arnold said that Latvian law must be used because any real damage, if it occurred, happened in Latvia. He added that Playtech’s claims of losing money in the UK were only indirect effects and were not strong enough to make England the correct place to hear the case.

Claims of UK Damage Rejected by the Court

The judges also rejected Playtech’s argument about copyright. Playtech claimed that Veliks took a screenshot of one of its game logos while in Latvia and later had the image on his device during a trade show in London. But Lord Justice Arnold said Latvia was still the proper place to handle this issue. He noted that Latvian courts are capable of dealing with cases involving secondary infringement of UK copyright.

The appeal by Realtime and Veliks challenged an earlier January 2025 ruling by Judge Thompsell, who had allowed Playtech to continue the case in England. The new decision overturns that ruling and prevents Playtech from pursuing the lawsuit in English courts.

Patent Case Also Comes to an End

Playtech was also involved in a different patent dispute with OnAir Entertainment at the Unified Patent Court. That case is now over because the Technical Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office confirmed on 30 October that the Playtech patent at the centre of the dispute has been revoked. Since the patent is no longer valid, the infringement case cannot go on.