Former OnAir Entertainment blasts company for alleged unethical practices

A former OnAir Entertainment employee took to LinkedIn, a professional social media network, last week to voice his exasperation with the company he used to work for, levelling serious accusations of corporate espionage in the process.

Ivan Ivanovs, who spent two years with OnAir as Product Owner and Senior Product Owner, alleged that some higher-ranking employees in the company, including members of the management, were aware of unauthorized access to Playtech / Playtech Live Latvia private and internal information by another OnAir employee, Igors Veliks, but chose to turn a blind eye.

Ivanovs said that Veliks retained access to Playtech’s internal development environment after he quit his role as a member of Euro Live Technologies, a subsidiary of Playtech. In his LinkedIn post, Ivans argued that Veliks was able to see what Playtech was planning in terms of new games and features, as well as technologies and marketing options, what operators they are planning to go ahead with, and more.

Ivanovs further alleged that he had seen screenshots of at least one Playtech game that was shown to him by Veliks, and which was taken not from publicly released materials, which would be standard practice, but rather from a dedicated internal environment. Ivanovs doubled down on this particular allegation, claiming that he had "additional witness statements of Igor Veliks showcasing Playtech (sic) products through (sic) their internal systems to other OnAir employees. More proof still available in the OnAir internal systems."

Ivanovs' beef with OnAir Entertainment is not personal, he argues, as he joined the company with dreams and hopes. Yet, it’s hard to ignore the personal angle in the case, as Ivanovs said that OnAir Entertainment sent him a cease and desist letter in mid-2023, not because of him making revelations about business practices per se, but because of him advertising his achievements within OnAir Entertainment, he said.

The company told him to take down his LinkedIn post at the time, and asked to honor a confidentiality breach clause which would see him pay €10,000. Ivanovs refused, and cited Latvian law, arguing that he had only shared relevant experience in the pursuit of new employment.

He then claimed that after four months of not hearing from OnAir Entertainment, the company launched a lawsuit against him. His decision to make allegations about corporate espionage against his former boss came after this incident. Meanwhile, Playtech has confirmed for Next.io, a gaming industry publication, that it is looking into the matter. The truth will be thrashed out over the next weeks and months, but whatever the case – Ivanovs is making serious allegations that he would have to back up.

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