Thousands of employees at online gambling company Evolution have been on strike in Tbilisi, Georgia, for more than a month, protesting over pay, harassment allegations and unsafe working conditions.
The strike began on July 12 but escalated in August. Giorgi Diasamidze, head of the employees’ union trade union, said the company initially threatened to leave the country completely if there was a strike. (The company cut 1,000 jobs after announcing the strike.) But when striking workers escalated their protests in mid-August by attempting to block entrances to the building, Diasamidze and WIRED spoke to The employees claimed that non-uniformed private security guards were employed. The company defeated the strikers.
“They hide their true identity. They don’t care about gender. (I) know people who are bruised and have trouble walking,” Diasamidze says. Photos and videos shared by WIRED show visible bruises and welts from the security guard’s aggressive actions against the worker, as well as the guard violently pulling the worker off a bench. It’s reflected.
A small number of workers, including Mahale Patashri, went on hunger strike. “I can’t believe I’m still alive,” Patashri told WIRED in August. Patashri was taken to the hospital last week after fasting for 28 days.
Evolution spokesperson Carl Linton said in a written statement that the company “has and will continue to work toward resolving disputes based on established processes and local law. “We firmly support and respect the right of workers to strike within the legal framework of the United States.” . ”
“The union’s decision to illegally block the entrance to working employees violates the employees’ rights under Georgian law,” he continued. “We faced the challenge of maintaining full operational capability. Since the lockdown continued, the disruption has led to a review of our presence in Georgia, including reductions in personnel. This review was prompted by the strike itself. “It was caused as a direct result of illegal activity, and not as a direct result of illegal activity,” the union said. ”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Evolution is reportedly in talks with the Nevada Gaming Control Board to obtain a license to operate in Las Vegas, the most valuable gaming market in the United States. (The company has not commented on these talks.)
While strikes continue to garner attention locally and in Sweden, where the company is based, the company remains relatively unresponsive, even as workers hope their struggles will be taken into account by U.S. regulators. It doesn’t seem to move.
Evolution has licenses to do business in several U.S. states and several European countries. But Nevada would be a special coup. The state generated more than $15 billion in revenue from gambling in 2023 alone. Earlier this year, Evolution acquired table game supplier Galaxy Gaming, through which it has applied for a license to operate in Las Vegas.
Kirk Hendrick, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, said the licensing process is confidential and declined further comment when contacted by WIRED about Evolution’s application.
Nevada’s local culinary and bartender unions, which represent about 60,000 workers at casinos in Las Vegas and Reno, are supporting the striking workers. “If the Nevada Gaming Commission continues to refuse to treat its employees with respect and provide decent wages and safe working conditions, we urge them to deny Evolution’s application,” Cook Union representatives said in a statement. “We strongly urge this,” the group said in a joint official statement.
