The Poker Network: Early contributors sue for slice of Cake Poker
(April 10, 2011)
In a move reminiscent of the Hollywood smash hit The Social Network, some early contributors to Cake Gaming are claiming
that their idea was stolen without just compensation.
Ryan Bennett and Francois Piette filed suit against Cake in Canada's Supreme Court of British Columbia last week. The pair allege
that they developed groundbreaking concepts such as multi-level marketing (think Refer-A-Friend) and the use of photo-real
images on a poker site. These ideas were shared with the principals of Yummy Interactive, who went on to form the Cake
Poker Network.
In exchange for their ideas and marketing prowess, Bennett and Piette say they were promised a 20% share in the resulting company,
but instead they were shown the door and given a small fraction of the compensation due under the agreement. In their
lawsuit, Bennett and Piette ask the court to grant them their 20% share, as well as damages for breach of
contract, misrepresentation and conspiracy.
The misconduct alleged in the complaint (a "Notice of Civil Claim" under Canadian law) may be less interesting than
what it reveals about Cake's convoluted corporate structure. Poker sites accepting North American players are notoriously tight-lipped about
the companies and people running the show behind the scenes, in part because they rightly fear prosecution by US and Canadian authorities.
The plaintiffs say they were told that "a British Columbia corporation was going to be incorporated [which] would then be rolled
into an offshore entity which would then operate and market" the project. They were told this was "necessary because
you can develop online poker software in British Columbia but you cannot operate an online poker site from British Columbia."
The lawsuit names as defendants six separate Cake entities, two Yummy Interactive companies and eight of the principals
behind Cake Poker.
The full complaint can be seen here [pdf]:
Notice of Civil Claim.
