PlayUp’s bust up with liquor, gambling cops threatens NT licence court hears

A struggling company could lose its licence after copping a fine from authorities, years after a multimillion deal with convicted fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried fell through.

A troubled Australian sports betting company is at risk of losing its licence after copping a fine from gambling authorities, years after a multimillion-dollar deal with convicted fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried fell through.

PlayUp’s chief executive Daniel Simic was grilled in the Federal Court on Tuesday in a bid to prove he could afford to pay costs in a years-long legal fight against its former key American executive Laila Mintas.

But, Federal Court judge Brigitte Markovic declined to give him more time to pay the court security and criticised PlayUp’s delays in prosecuting the case, which was first kicked off in late 2021 but has “barely progressed” since.

PlayUp sued Dr Mintas in separate matters in the US and Australia, after accusing her of scuppering a $600m sale of PlayUp to Bankman-Friend’s now bankrupt FTX crypto-exchange in 2020.

Daniel Simic, global CEO of PlayUp.

Dr Mintas has always strongly denied PlayUp’s allegations, and the case against her in Sydney was effectively wrapped up on Tuesday after amended pleadings were dismissed.

The court heard listed Canadian company AdRabbit lobbed a reverse takeover offer of PlayUp in March last year.

Mr Simic told the court it could consider the non-binding deal a sign he could payout Dr Mintas’s legal fees if he lost the dispute.

But Mr Simic said he didn’t think it was relevant to tell the court in earlier evidence about concerns contained in a letter from AdRabbit that PlayUp was hit with a record $586,000 fine issued by Liquor & Gaming NSW last year, which could threaten the company’s licence in the Northern Territory.

Barrister Zoe Hillman, appearing for Dr Mintas, questioned Mr Simic about AdRabbit’s concern about the potential risk of losing the NT licence.

“You agree that AdRabbit’s concerns and the potential effect on (the) transaction… should have been disclosed to the court (before) this morning,” she said.

“Receiving fines is part of the business now,” Mr Simic said.

He said PlayUp is appealing the fine.

Dr Laila Mintas is an entrepreneur, investor and thought leader in the tech and sports betting industry.

Mr Simic also failed to demonstrate an understanding that there was “no binding contract” for the original FTX contract, Ms Hillman told the court.

“(Mr Simic was) refusing to accept the transaction would never have gone ahead anyway because of the bankrupting of FTX… and the fraud of Bankman … reveals a lack of understanding on his part,” she said.

PlayUp was close to signing a $US450m ($624m) sale to FTX crypto exchange in 2021.

PlayUp accused Dr Mintas of sabotaging the deal while she was renegotiating a new contract, when she demanded her $US500,000 annual salary be doubled and that Mr Simic be terminated and replaced by her.

According to a lawsuit filed by PlayUp in Nevada in 2022, Dr Mintas allegedly tanked the deal by contacting Backman-Fried to warn him against pursuing the PlayUp deal and tell him that there was “conflict within management of PlayUp …[and] systemic issues, and that the company is not clean”.

But Mr Bankman-Fried, now a 33-year-old, was sentenced to 25 years in jail last year after it emerged customers started withdrawing funds from the exchange following revelations billions of dollars had been illegally moved from FTX to Mr Bankman-Fried’s personal hedge fund, Alameda Research. Mr Bankman-Fried is appealing the fraud conviction.

During a full day hearing on Tuesday, Mr Simic told Justice Markovic he sought an injunction against Dr Mintas in 2021 to “stop Laila causing more harm to the business” and making disparaging comments about the company.

“She already ruined one deal for the business,” he said.

“(She) ruined our entire operations at the time.”

The court heard Alameda Research offered PlayUP $US35m worth of convertible notes, which Mr Simic said was spent in the US on purchasing gaming licences in America.

Mr Simic agreed he knew Bankman-Fried had been jailed and that his businesses including FTX and Alameda Research had been bankrupted.

He also agreed PlayUp was on the brink of insolvency when FTX collapsed, and by the end of October in 2022 securing alternative funding was “critical” to the business.

Mr Simic insisted that the position of the business is “substantially different now to what it was back in 2022” and said he did not disclose PlayUp’s historic financial positions to the court because he does not “believe there is a risk of insolvency” now.

PlayUp has not lodged its accounts with the corporate regulator since 2022, the court heard. As well, PlayUp has sponsored Sydney rugby league team Wests Tigers until this year.