Evolution says it has found out during the discovery process that Playtech Software Limited, which is part of Playtech Plc, was the one who hired the Israeli private intelligence firm Black Cube. They reportedly had Black Cube put together and spread a report back in 2021 that Evolution describes as containing “highly inflammatory and knowingly false claims” about the company and how it operates. Evolution believes the purpose of the report was to seriously damage the company for anti-competitive reasons. However, Playtech has denied the claims.
In a statement seen by ReadWrite, Evolution said, “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 company added that “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.” Evolution noted that “the New Jersey Superior Court also determined that the defamatory report was untruthful and lacked veracity,” and that “dissemination of the report has resulted in multi-billion dollar damage to our company.”
Evolution said that “Black Cube has a well-documented history of using deceitful methods to sway public opinion by launching smear campaigns on behalf of its clients.” The firm alleged that as part of its 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.”
According to Evolution, “the subjects of Black Cube’s report disavowed the allegations and said the report entirely misrepresented their comments.”
It continued, “We sued the law firm and its then-anonymous co-conspirators for defamation, trade libel, and other illegal conduct in 2021.” It added that “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,” Evolution said.
“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.”
According to the company, Playtech hired Black Cube in December 2020 to put together a report that accused Evolution of breaking regulations. Evolution claims that during 2021, Black Cube carried out an investigation using “false personas and disguises” to meet with both current and former employees and board members. The company says the recordings from those meetings were then edited to “manufacture a misleading and defamatory report.”
Playtech says Evolution claims ‘wholly untrue’
Playtech has strongly rejected these allegations. A spokesperson told ReadWrite that the claim its subsidiary engaged in a smear campaign was “wholly untrue and is designed to distract from serious questions about Evolution’s business practices.”
According to the company, “PTS commissioned an independent business intelligence firm to investigate credible and repeated concerns raised by operators, suppliers and regulators about Evolution’s activities in prohibited and sanctioned markets, and its supply to unlicensed operators in regulated markets.” Playtech stated the investigation “was undertaken lawfully to better understand and verify concerns of significant regulatory and commercial importance.”
The company further said that the published report “clearly evidences that Evolution’s business practices undermine lawful and compliant gambling operations.” Playtech argued that “such conduct damages trust in the credibility of the entire industry and also ultimately impacts government tax collection.”
Playtech said it stands by the decision to commission the report and accused Evolution of trying to avoid scrutiny. “Evolution continues to seek to avoid legitimate scrutiny rather than address longstanding questions about its conduct, including its decision to supply operators in illegal markets and to support unlicensed operators in regulated markets.”
The statement continued, “Playtech welcomes court examination of the report and its findings. Playtech is confident that these proceedings will confirm the credibility and legitimacy of the investigation and the importance of the issues it seeks to address.”
Playtech’s shares dropped 34% after the allegations became public. The stock price fell from 222p to 118.5p, hitting their lowest level since early 2020.
Evolution Black Cube report timeline of events
In November 2021, the law firm Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP submitted the Black Cube report to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Evolution said the report was later shared with several media outlets, including Bloomberg, which went on to publish an article based on the allegations.
On December 14, 2021, Evolution filed a lawsuit against Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP and anonymous defendants. Those defendants were later revealed to include Black Cube and Playtech. The lawsuit was for defamation, trade libel, and related claims. According to the company, Playtech and Black Cube “took extraordinary measures to conceal their roles” for years.
In February 2024, US regulators closed their investigations into Evolution without taking corrective action. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement stated that it had found “no evidence … showing that Evolution took illegal bets from New Jersey, another state, or any other prohibited jurisdiction,” and “no evidence of inappropriate payments to Evolution by its clients or that Evolution provided devices for customers to illegally use their content.”
The New Jersey Superior Court later concluded that “the report is not truthful and Plaintiffs […] suffered damages and continue […] to suffer damages in the casino gaming industry as a direct result of [Defendants’] actions.” In April 2025, Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP revealed Black Cube’s identity but claimed not to know the client behind the report. Evolution then amended its complaint in June 2025 to include Black Cube as a defendant.
In August 2025, Black Cube’s founder and director, Avi Yanus, filed an affidavit that he said included new evidence. Evolution responded by saying the evidence was gathered using “the same unethical methods.” Not long after that, Bloomberg published another story that quoted directly from the affidavit.
In September 2025, the New Jersey Superior Court ordered Black Cube to reveal its client’s identity, finding the 2021 report to be “objectively baseless” and stating that “no reasonable litigant could expect success on the merits.” The court described Black Cube’s 2025 affidavit as “self-serving.”
Evolution said Black Cube tried to appeal the order but wasn’t successful, and later went to the New Jersey Supreme Court for an emergency review, which was also denied. The company said it now plans to amend its complaint to officially add Playtech as a defendant. According to Evolution, the case is expected to continue into 2026.
Featured image: Evolution / Playtech
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