Reaction Link

What is Reaction Link?

The share price came under pressure following debt disclosures in Bally’s Q2 10-Q filing, which was submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission on 14 August.

In the filing, Bally’s noted that based on current forecasts, the business “does not project that it would satisfy the liquidity maintenance requirement” or the “consolidated net leverage ratio covenant” in its revolving credit facility over the next year.

The filing added: “As described below, while the company is actively engaged in discussions on several financing alternatives, the conditions and events raise substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

About Reaction Link

Judge Kennedy explained in her ruling, “The court finds that Hasselback’s statements that continued representation in this matter would cause him to violate several ethical obligations trigger mandatory withdrawal under Model Rule 1.16(a) and is sufficient for granting his motion.” She added, “Hasselback need not be required to provide details, beyond his written motion, to establish that mandatory withdrawal is warranted,” and stated that requiring him “to specify the basis for his mandatory withdrawal could create the untenable situation of an attorney having to choose between his obligation of candor to the court and his obligation to maintain his client’s confidences.”

Unfortunately, because of that attorney-client privilege, it is difficult to know what types of ethical dilemmas Hasselback is facing. However, it’s likely just the mere hint at issues will be enough for IPI to find itself, once again, being more closely scrutinized. Where that leads is anyone’s guess, given gaming regulators’ reluctance to hold the company accountable for its actions.

IPI now has until this Friday to find a new lawyer to carry the six-case workload Hasselback had, but will most likely use this as an excuse to delay the ongoing legal battles. It won’t get very far with that, though, and perhaps Judge Kennedy expected IPI to try something. She added in her ruling that the attorney’s exit “may cause some delay, [but] that delay is not so much so that it would cause significant prejudice or adversely and materially affect the plaintiff.”

About Reaction Link

For Yggdrasil, Game in a Box and Studio in a Box are therefore intended to become more than tools for its own development operation. Curwen envisages them supporting a wider creator ecosystem, although he acknowledges that proving the model commercially must come first.

“We’re still early,” he says. “The priority is to prove the model properly; make sure the games perform and demonstrate that it works commercially. If we do that, I think the opportunity is significant.”

Five years from now, Curwen expects the development landscape – and the studios operating within it – to look markedly different.