Judge Gloria M. Navarro granted summary judgment in favour of Mintas, the former CEO of PlayUp’s US business between 2019 and 2021, dismissing all claims brought against her by the company.

The case stems from a contentious dispute between PlayUp and Mintas following the collapse of a potential acquisition by now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

PlayUp and its CEO Daniel Simic had accused Mintas of spiking the deal, while she argued it was in fact the other way around.

While all of PlayUp’s claims were dismissed, many of Mintas’ counterclaims against Simic and the business, including for defamation, false light and breach of contract, will proceed to trial — where she is seeking a $100m judgement.

A source close to the Mintas camp told NEXT.io: “This is a huge victory for Dr. Mintas. We now have two rulings on two continents confirming that these claims were baseless. It was Simic who sabotaged everything. Now, we can focus on securing her rightful compensation and finally putting this behind her.”

PlayUp to defend against $100m counterclaims

Mintas’ counterclaims against Simic include claims for defamation, due to comments PlayUp’s attorney made to Bonus.comin a two-part article published in August 2022.

Simic is also alleged to have had a dinner with several PlayUp employees and other gaming industry people at the Venetian where he said Mintas had “blown the deal” and had been trying to take over the company.

The parties also disputed Mintas’ compensation, with conflicting accounts of whether she received proper payment under her employment agreements from 2019-2021.

The judgement follows the recent conclusion of a separate case in Australia, where the court similarly threw out PlayUp’s claims against the former Sportradar executive.

PlayUp’s US business dramatically collapsed in mid-2023, after the New Jersey gaming regulator revoked its licence amid reports of employees going unpaid and an erratic winding-down process.

AI advertising business Adrabbit announced a reverse takeover of PlayUp in March 2024 that would result in a combined entity led by Simic.

However, Adrabbit has raised reportedly raised concerns the business failed to disclose a fine from the Northern Territory Racing Commission, which could possibly scuttle the deal.