Koin Mobile, a supplier of digital wallet solutions to enable cashless gaming, has sued slot and fintech supplier Everi Holdings, Inc., alleging that Everi’s platform blocks alternative, non-cash ways to fund gaming.
According to a report by Reuters, the lawsuit, filed in Nevada federal court, claims that Everi unlawfully forces casinos to use only its own digital payments product in a bid to dominate the market for virtual wallets for gaming, and violates U.S. antitrust law by “tying” the use of its digital wallet to other company services involving cash-access, and through long-term exclusive agreements that bar casinos from working with other non-Everi digital wallet providers.
Koin offers the Koin Wallet, which competes with Everi’s CashClub Wallet. Koin said its digital wallet “threatened (Everi’s) dominance of in-casino financial access” and that its non-competitive practices are interfering with Koin’s casino business relationships.
“More casinos and patrons using digital wallets means fewer casinos and patrons using Everi’s cash-access systems,” Koin’s lawsuit said. Digital wallets, the lawsuit said, “threaten to relegate cash-access kiosks to history’s trash heap of payphones and typewriters.”
Koin alleged that “Everi can and does charge higher prices than its competitors” because casinos are locked into using its services.
