Sagi’s risky gamble on a ￡53 million worthless acquisition
Online gaming billionaire Teddy Sagi (photo above), is currently embroiled in a court case filed in December 2023 (CL-2023-000883, Skywind Holdings Limited and In Touch Games Limited v. Simon Wilson, Caroline Yu-Lin Wilson and Ruskin Properties Limited) that involves heavily contested claims of fraud and physical threats over his acquisition of In Touch Games (ITG), for ￡53 million. ITG, once a thriving digital gaming company with almost 5 million customers and a sponsorship deal with West Bromwich Albion, is now allegedly worth nothing.
Better times for Simon Wilson (centre) seen alongside former players of West Bromwich Albion Football Club Joe May (left) and Micky Fudge (right)
Sagi, who is Israeli, has an estimated net worth of $6.4 billion, amassed primarily through Playtech, a gaming software development company he founded in Estonia in 1999. The company was valued at ￡550 million on its 2006 London stock market listing and had almost doubled in value by the time Sagi sold his last shares in 2018. He has since invested much of his wealth in a property portfolio, which includes Camden Market in North London.
Deal of a lifetime and downfall of ITG
Simon Wilson, the man behind ITG, also capitalized on the online gambling boom of the early 21st century. He transformed ITG from a supplier of high street slot machines and jukeboxes into a successful digital gaming company. However, he found himself contemplating the deal of his life when he entered negotiations with Sagi.
The deal-making took place in Sagi’s ￡30 million Knightsbridge residence overlooking Hyde Park, a world away from the no-frills, functional office block in Halesowen, West Midlands, where Wilson had built his business. Given the high-stakes nature of the deail and the claim filed at the high court by Sagi’s Gibraltar-based online gambling company, Skywind, it is perhaps surprising that Sagi was not more nervous about this acquisition.
In the summer of 2021, ITG was under scrutiny from the Gambling Commission. The regulator had been investigating the company since 2017, resulting in a forced ￡2.2 million settlement. Despite this, ITG failed to improve its practices, leading to a second, harsher punishment in March 2021 – a ￡3.4 million fine and an official warning.
ITG’s transgressions included poor monitoring of whether online casino players might be suffering from a gambling problem and lax money-laundering checks that did not assess the risk of customers using cryptocurrencies. As a result, the commission imposed a third-party audit of the company’s paperwork by risk management and consultancy group RSM UK.
ITG passed the audit, and RSM applauded its “positive direction of travel”. However, according to Skywind’s high court claim, this story of redemption was an elaborate sham that led to Sagi’s company buying ITG for ￡53 million.
Will Sagi’s gamble pay off or has he been dealt a losing hand?
In this unfolding M&A drama, each party is backed by a formidable legal team. Teddy Sagi has enlisted the expertise of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, a global litigation firm known for handling high-profile and high-stakes cases.
On the other side of the table, Simon Wilson, the man who built In Touch Games from the ground up, is represented by Irwin Mitchell, a UK-based law firm with a strong reputation in commercial litigation.
Adding another layer to this complex case is Yu Lin Wilson, also known as Caroline, Simon Wilson’s estranged wife, who has engaged the services of Chamberlain Hamnet, while Ruskin Properties, another defendant in this saga, is represented by FBC Manby Bowdler.
These legal world class firms bring a wealth of experience and strategic acumen to the table, setting the stage for a legal battle that will capture the interest of the global gaming industry, an outcome that will most likely have significant implications for all parties involved, a case that could potentially reshape aspects of the global online gambling sector.
Last set of accounts filed with Companies House was for period ending 31 July 2021
The aftermath
Less than a year after the audit, Sagi arrived on the scene with his chequebook. He wanted ITG’s profitable brands such as Jammy Monkey, mFortune, and PocketWin, online casinos that typically offer a reliable stream of income from fixed-odds games. The takeover via Skywind was completed by June 2022.
However, the deal began to turn sour within months. In January 2023, the commission hit ITG with its biggest fine yet, a ￡6.1 million penalty for failures that took place in March 2022, prior to the acquisition. In August 2023, the Gambling Commission wrote to ITG, now under Skywind’s ownership, suggesting ITG had “knowingly altered” documents in advance of the crucial favourable audit conducted by RSM in 2021.
The case continues and it remains to be seen whether Sagi’s ￡53 million gamble will pay off or if he has been dealt a losing hand.
Teddy Sagi’s trail of controversial legal disputes
Sagi’s high-risk high-reward business dealings have been marked by a number of legal disputes and controversies over the years.
Alleged assassination plot: In 2021, Israeli authorities accused Iran of plotting to assassinate Israelis in Cyprus, including potentially Teddy Sagi. The plot was reportedly uncovered by Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency. However, both the Israeli prime minister’s office and Sagi’s company, the Sagi Group, denied that Sagi was a known target. This incident underscored the geopolitical risks that high-profile business figures like Sagi can face.
Dispute with William Hill: Another significant legal dispute involved the British bookmaker William Hill and Playtech, a company founded by Sagi. The claimants alleged that Sagi planned to sell a company called ValueNet for “hundreds of millions of dollars.” This case highlighted the high-stakes nature of the online gambling industry and the potential for disagreements over valuations and business strategies.
These cases illustrate the complex and often contentious nature of Sagi’s business dealings. They also highlight the broader legal challenges faced by key players in the online gambling industry.
Caroline Yu-Lin Wilson is also CEO of Ruskin Properties
And the couple behind In Touch Games
Founder of In Touch Games Simon Wilson lives in Stourbridge and has been a key figure in the online gambling industry, capitalizing on its boom in the early 2000s. He transformed ITG from a supplier of high street slot machines and jukeboxes into a thriving digital gaming company with almost 5 million customers.
The company operates several online casino brands, including bonusboss.co.uk, cashmo.co.uk, casino.mfortune.co.uk, casino2020.co.uk, drslot.co.uk, mfortune.co.uk, mrspin.co.uk, pocketwin.co.uk, and slotfactory.com.
Under Wilson’s leadership, ITG also secured a sponsorship deal with West Bromwich Albion, a football club based in the UK. This move was aimed at building ITG’s profile among football fans and attracting them to its online casino brands.
However, things started to take a turn when The Gambling Commission fined the company multiple times for failures related to social responsibility and money laundering. Despite these setbacks, Wilson remained at the helm of ITG.
In addition to his work with ITG, Wilson, along with his now estranged Taiwanese wife Caroline Yu-Lin Wilson, founded the Intouch Global Foundation (IGF) in 2017. On its website, the foundation claims to provide tailored guidance and financial support to charities both locally and across the globe.
Trained as an accountant, Caroline Yu-Lin, is also CEO of Ruskin Properties Ltd.. Despite the company’s focus on building high-quality, design-led developments, there appears to be a connection with the gambling sector through Caroline Yu Lin Wilson. In an interview following her recognition as one of the Top 10 CEOs of 2022, Wilson said that balancing empathy with honesty is crucial to her. She revealed that Ruskin had partnered with Gordy Moody, an organization that advocates for support for those with gambling addictions. She said that this collaboration aimed to fund the world’s first residential treatment centre for women struggling with gambling addiction.
