Evolution’s throat-and-dagger lawsuit against Playtech–involving allegations of industrial spying by ex-Israeli secret service agents, reputation trashing and charges of defamation–has been ramped-up with the Swedish-origin iCasino pioneers now seeking to name their arch rivals as direct defendants in the explosive U.S. court case.
“Evolution AB [the world’s leading B2B provider and innovator of online casino games] announced today that it has requested permission from the Superior Court of New Jersey to amend the complaint in its ongoing defamation lawsuit against Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP and Black Cube to add Playtech Plc (“Playtech”), Juda Engelmayer and others as Defendants for their roles in commissioning and disseminating highly inflammatory and defamatory reports about Evolution’s business practices in an effort to harm its reputation,” Evolution announced in a press statement to the international media.
Evolution’s U.S. case being heard in the Superior Court of New Jersey was initially launched in 2021 against the law firm of Calcagni & Kanefsky, Newark, New Jersey, effectively accusing the “White Collar” crime litigants of trashing their reputation in an orchestrated campaign of placement, leaks and misinformation to the media and industry pacesetters.
Israeli Secret Service
Last October it emerged in court proceedings that Calcagni & Kanefsky had been retained by Evolution’s casino games arch rival Playtech, who in turn–it was alleged in court–had employed the services of shadowy Black Cube, a firm of industrial investigators founded by former Israeli secret service Mossad agents, as exclusively reported by me in iGamingFuture.
Evolution a controversial company that has previously been locked in a long-standing labour dispute with workers at its iCasino studio in Georgia, eastern Europe, and subjected to cyber attack by southeast Asian hackers, has been locked in fierce commercial combat over the B2B and B2C digital online casino space, since iGaming exploded during and post Covid-19 pandemic.
Evolution has claimed in court that Playtech, now headquartered on the Isle-of-Man, “orchestrated a ‘Defamatory Smear Campaign’ against Evolution in an attempt to enter the North American market and thwart competition.”
Covert Campaign
“It continues to be disappointing that a direct competitor would go to such extreme lengths to orchestrate a covert campaign designed to harm our business and avoid competing fairly in the marketplace,” Evolution, which reported just over US$2 billion (£1.4bn) in net revenue in 2024, asserted in its mid-week press release.
“We are formally naming Playtech in our lawsuit because the facts are clear: Playtech hired Black Cube to create and publicize a defamatory report designed to harm Evolution, all while misleading the market and lying to investors about its role.
“For nearly four years, Playtech spent millions of dollars in legal fees to conceal its involvement in this smear campaign and avoid accountability.”
Evolution further alleges that Playtech offered Black Cube a £1.5 million “success fee” (US$2.01m) “if its investigation yielded the results Playtech sought”.
Accomplices
Continued Evolution: “We are confident in our rigorous compliance policies and practices, and that the facts in this case are on our side.
“We look forward to holding Playtech, Black Cube, and all their accomplices accountable for the harm they have caused.”
Evolution alleges that Black Cube’s subsequent “dirty tricks” portfolio, comprising videos, audio clips, and cherry-picked portions of these interactions” was released to prestigious Bloomberg financial magazine, and other top flight media outlets, by Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP.
Responding to the latest court developments, Playtech said:
Playtech Hits Back
“Evolution’s claims are baseless and without merit.
“[We] stand by both the decision to commission the report at the centre of Evolution’s claims, and the validity of its findings.
“Evolution continues to seek to avoid legitimate scrutiny rather than addressing longstanding questions about its own conduct, including its decision to supply operators in both illegal and sanctioned markets and to support unlicensed operators in regulated markets.
“Playtech welcomes court and regulatory examination of the report and its findings and, importantly, the opportunity to be involved in the discovery process including to question Evolution’s employees, executives and officers in court. The company is very confident based on evidence it has, including recent additional evidence, that these proceedings will confirm the credibility and legitimacy of the report and the importance of the issues it seeks to address.
“Playtech will defend itself vigorously against Evolution’s claims and will continue to act in the best interests of industry operators, suppliers and regulators as well as its shareholders.”
iGamingFuture is waiting for Black Cube and Calcagni & Kanefsky.
