The Nevada Gaming Commission approved a license for an officer and key director of European-based betting and gaming operator Evoke, but not before spending several minutes criticizing the company over not taking the regulatory process seriously.
The Commission approved Chief Financial Officer Sean Wilkins, saying he was highly qualified. He’s currently the interim head of the U.S. operations and has served with the company since February 2024.
London-based Evoke owns William Hill International, the non-U.S. assets of Caesars’s William Hill, William Hill Vegas, 888casino, 888sport, and Mr. Green.
The criticism started with Commissioner Rosa Solis-Rainey, who said she was insulted that Wilkins appeared by video from a restaurant in Istanbul, instead of from an office.
“This is a serious matter and for you not to set time aside to be in a quiet and professional space to have this discussion with us is concerning to me,” Solis-Rainey said.
Solis-Rainey compared Wilkins’s appearance to the company’s incomplete compliance audit. She also said that audits aren’t a negotiation about whom the auditor gets to speak with.
Evoke legal counsel Kimberly Maxson-Rushton said there is a compliance audit is ongoing. Concerns raised about the timing and responsiveness had to do with Evoke being an international company, unaccustomed to the way agents normally operate.
“A back and forth between the agents and the timing of matters have since been addressed,” Maxson-Rushton said. “Responsiveness to the Nevada Gaming Control Board has been remedied.”
Maxson-Rushon mentioned recent meetings in London and that an agent wrote in a letter that they were impressed by the company’s commitment to compliance.
“We have that information. But my take on reading all of the materials, including those you provided, seems to me to be the opposite,” Solis-Rainey said. “It seems that the company didn’t understand that the Board doesn’t operate at their convenience. They chose to come to Nevada, be licensed in Nevada, and do business in Nevada. That means they make themselves available to the Gaming Control Board, which is more than reasonable. I don’t think anybody would appreciate cancelling international flights on 24-hours’ notice.”
“I understand the Board’s concerns and the company did acknowledge that at the Board meeting. We have since made sure there is a complete understanding of timing and responses to any agent request,” Maxson-Rushton said.
Solis-Rainey said she doesn’t have any problem with Wilkins’s experience, so she supports his licensing.
Commissioner Brian Krolicki said when licensees are dealing with the Gaming Control Board, they need to meet the obligations. The issue with Evoke is more about its attitude toward compliance and working with the Board.
“Late filings and some of the other things we’ve seen can’t happen,” Krolicki said. “You’re a sophisticated company. We have international companies coming in front of us every month. That’s not an excuse.” However, he noted, “The correspondence we received since the Gaming Control Board meeting from our agent — I wouldn’t say it put my mind at ease, but it was important to receive the update about how strong and welcoming the attitude has been in the last few weeks. Hopefully, we won’t have any of these issues going forward.”
Like Solis-Rainey, Krolicki said Wilkins is qualified and supports his licensing.
Evoke will return before regulators in October for the licensing of a U.S. chief technology officer and director of engineering. The director of U.S. compliance will also appear at the meetings.
Commissioner Abbi Silver said she was surprised to read Evoke’s attitudes toward Gaming Control Board agents. “I’ve never read anything like that. It’s not good.”
Silver said that has since turned around, with help from legal counsel, and she appreciates that. “I hope you stay on top of the company, because what we read was a little disturbing,” She said.
Krolicki questioned why the leverage of Evoke has been elevated. Wilkins responded it’s due to the purchase of William Hill International and that it’s coming down. He said, more importantly, the company has access to more than £ 200 million of liquidity and that number should increase in the second half of the year.
