Evolution AB has alleged that Playtech Software Limited, a subsidiary of Playtech Plc, commissioned the 2021 Black Cube investigation that produced what Evolution describes as a defamatory report containing false claims about its business practices.
According to documents disclosed through ongoing litigation in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Playtech is said to have hired the private intelligence firm Black Cube in December 2020 to create a report accusing Evolution of regulatory misconduct. The report, submitted to New Jersey and Pennsylvania gaming regulators in late 2021 by U.S. law firm Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP, was later cited in a Bloomberg article that same month.
Evolution filed suit against Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP and unnamed defendants in December 2021, alleging defamation, fraud, and tortious interference. The case has since revealed that Black Cube and Playtech were behind the report. Both parties are accused of concealing their roles during the proceedings.
In February 2024, New Jersey and Pennsylvania regulators closed their inquiries into Evolution without taking any enforcement action. The NJDGE confirmed it found no evidence of illegal betting activity or regulatory breaches. In September 2025, the New Jersey Superior Court described Black Cube’s report as “objectively baseless” and ordered the firm to reveal its client, which subsequent filings have shown to be Playtech.
Evolution has stated that it will now amend its complaint to include Playtech as a named defendant. The lawsuit, ongoing since 2021, is expected to continue through 2026. Both Playtech and Black Cube have not yet issued public statements in response to the allegations.
Evolution has issued the following statement:
It is deeply disturbing to learn that one of our competitors has gone to such extraordinary lengths to damage our business and reputation by hiring Black Cube and paying them over 1.8 million GBP to fabricate a report they knew would have extremely harmful repercussions. The report, which was furnished to regulators by a law firm representing Black Cube, Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP, and purposely leaked to the media, was determined by two state regulators in the U.S. to be lacking in evidentiary support. Later, the New Jersey Superior Court also determined that the defamatory report was untruthful and lacked veracity. Notwithstanding those findings, dissemination of the report has resulted in multi-billion dollar damage to our company.
Black Cube has a well-documented history of using deceitful methods to sway public opinion by launching smear campaigns on behalf of its clients. As part of its so-called investigation, Black Cube used highly unethical tactics, including initiating meetings with current and former Evolution employees and board members under false pretenses and secretly recording those interactions; using disguises and falsified identities; and cherry picking edited recordings to fabricate evidence to achieve its desired, false narrative. It is notable that the subjects of Black Cube’s report disavowed the allegations and said the report entirely misrepresented their comments.
We sued the law firm and its then-anonymous co-conspirators for defamation, trade libel, and other illegal conduct in 2021. After years of litigation, the New Jersey Superior Court judge presiding over the case found Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP, its client, and the report’s ultimate sponsor “prepared and disseminated false allegations about [Evolution’s] business practices that were designed to harm, and did harm, [Evolution’s] business,” and ordered Defendants to reveal the identity of the parties responsible for the report.
Although Playtech has finally been identified after years of trying to keep its involvement in this smear campaign a secret, Black Cube continues to evade the Court’s discovery orders by withholding relevant information. We will continue to hold Black Cube, Playtech, and all the other players in this defamatory scheme responsible for their misconduct. We are confident in our legal position and look forward to finally holding Playtech and its accomplices to account for the significant harm they have caused.
Black Cube has also issued the following statement:
Black Cube proudly submitted its findings in coordination with its client. The case now enters its decisive stage – where years of Black Cube’s intelligence work will finally be brought to light and thoroughly examined.
The extensive body of evidence, including countless hours of video and audio recordings, leaves no room for doubt: Evolution knowingly and deliberately allowed its games to operate in sanctioned jurisdictions and black markets – both before and after the report’s submission.
By doing so, Evolution misled the public, the Court, and regulatory authorities. Now, the truth will prevail.
