Trillion Ltd., the London company which trades as Pokertrillion, has curiously withdrawn all claims in its contentious legal dispute with Boss Media A.B. on Malta.
By way of background, the dispute allegedly began when Pokertrillion was thrown off of Boss Media's International Poker Network -- this according to an April statement wherein Boss Media accused Pokertrillion of "rakeback violations."
In response to being removed from the network, Pokertrillion sought a court order to freeze Boss Media's assets in Malta, paperwork for which was filed in April.
Andy Pyrah, the chief executive of Pokertrillion who about this dispute has communicated entirely via a stream of ambiguous press releases, had alleged "mistreatment" by Boss Media; "massive irregularities surrounding Boss Media and their handling of Pokertrillion.com;" and "a number of contractual issues" with Boss Media.
In a headline-grabbing press release in August, Mr. Pyrah claimed that the First Hall Civil Court of Malta had decreed that his company be granted the right to seize Boss Media's servers located on the Mediterranean island nation.
"Some of it is misleading really, as this is not the final decision in the whole case," Olga Finkel, the managing partner of WH Law in Malta, told IGamingNews in August, when asked about the veracity of Mr. Pyrah's statement.
"What is certain at this point is that the main dispute -- which was filed in April of this year (435/2008) -- has not even started. I mean the main court case was filed by Trillion Limited against Boss and Boss filed a reply, but there has been not a single court sitting until now," she added in an e-mail.
For its part, The Maltese Lotteries & Gaming Authority, which regulates both Boss Media's operating subsidiary Boss Media Poker Ltd. and another, unnamed operator of which Pokertrillion is an intermediary, has not been involved in mediating the dispute.
"The Lotteries and Gaming Authority informs the public that the dispute between Poker Trillion Limited and Boss Media AB is solely of a commercial nature between the two parties and therefore the Authority is not involved directly in this dispute," the authority said in August. "Nevertheless the Authority is following closely the developments of this case in order to safeguard the interests of the players."
In Pokertrillion's latest press release, which was issued Sept. 24, the company stated tersely: "Trillion Limited (POKERTRILLION.com) announces that they have withdrawn all claims made against Boss Media and related parties ending the legal dispute between the companies."
Neither Mr. Pyrah -- who prior to his time as head of Pokertrillion worked alongside Barry Hearn, an English entrepreneur and founder of the promotions company Matchroom Sport -- nor the company's press office has responded to e-mails from IGamingNews seeking an explanation of the dispute.
In August, Martin Thorvaldsson, counsel for Boss Media, deferred comment to Robert K. Vincent, a spokesman for Boss Media's majority stakeholder, Gtech Corporation. Mr. Vincent did not return a phone call.
Further details have yet to emerge, and as of 6 a.m., British Summer Time, Boss Media had not issued a statement regarding the dispute's resolution.
Chris Krafcik is the editor of IGamingNews. He lives in St. Louis, Mo.