Espionage, Smear Campaigns, and Discovery: Inside the Legal Battle Between Live Casino Giants Evolution and Playtech

According to the timeline outlined in Evolution’s press release, the New Jersey law firm Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP submitted the Black Cube report to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in November 2021. Within less than a day, Evolution’s share price on the Stockholm Stock Exchange dropped by 8%.

The report was also shared with various media outlets, namely Bloomberg. A subsequent article published by Bloomberg pushed the stock price even further down, peaking out at a 19% plunge in late November 2021.

The whole mess also involves a New York-based PR firm called HeraldPR, which was supposedly hired by Black Cube to disseminate the report’s allegations further.

Evolution was eventually cleared of all allegations by the New Jersey gambling regulator (NJDGE). The regulatory body found no evidence to suggest that Evolution had sanctioned, promoted, permitted or materially benefited from content offered in prohibited markets.

However, the damage was done, and Evo’s stock price took a serious beating. And they were not going to take it lying down.

Ensuing Legal Battles

On December 14, 2021, Evolution filed a defamation lawsuit with the New Jersey Superior Court. The lawsuit was initially targeted against Calcagni & Kanefsky, the law firm that filed the report. However, it was clear from the get-go that the real party responsible for the report was anonymous. The original Bloomberg story implied that it was a US-based competitor, but such claims were largely unconfirmed rumours.

The lawsuit quickly revealed that Black Cube was responsible for the report through the process of court discovery. The suit also alleged that “highly unethical” tactics were used to collect the supposed evidence, including secretly-recorded meetings with current and former Evolution employees and board members under false pretence.

Black Cube was also accused of using false identities and disguises, as well as editing recordings to fabricate evidence. To be fair, Black Cube are known for using both fake personas and falsified evidence in their work. For example, a lengthy June 2021 report in the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail detailed the many ways Black Cube agents worked to fabricate evidence against innocent civilians, including a Canadian judge and journalists.

Ultimately, New Jersey courts stated that the Black Cube report ‘lacks veracity and the plaintiff is entitled to all relevant discovery necessary.’ In other words, Black Cube was forced to reveal who commissioned the report or be held in contempt of court.

Playtech Unmasked

In October 2025, Playtech was finally revealed to be the mysterious client behind Black Cube’s ‘investigation’. Evolution immediately amended the lawsuit to also include Playtech as a defendant.

The pushback against these revelations was immediate. Evolution was quick to stress its disappointment, citing Playtech’s behavior as damaging for the whole industry.

Playtech’s stock price fell by a whopping 34% in less than a day. Despite the terrible optics, the online gambling giant stood behind its decision to commission a report – and its findings.

A Playtech spokesperson said:

“The suggestion that its subsidiary, Playtech Software Limited (PTS) engaged in a smear campaign is wholly untrue and is designed to distract from serious questions about Evolution’s business practices.

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.

The investigation was undertaken lawfully to better understand and verify concerns of significant regulatory and commercial importance.”

For their part, Black Cube is also still adamant that their intelligence work was solid and produced damning evidence.

“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.”

However, it’s easy to look at Playtech’s decisions regarding the case and call them self-defeating.

Future Developments

Although the interesting parts of the igaming drama seem to be behind us, it is still unclear how the situation will develop in the future.

Evolution has stated that it will be seeking damages. According to CEO Martin Carlesund, they’re looking for ‘justice.’ Whether this ‘justice’ will take the form of financial damages, regulatory consequences, or something else entirely, remains unclear.

When asked by Citi’s Monique Pollard how Evo plans to quantify damages, Carlesund refused to provide specifics, but called the damages ‘severe.’

More importantly, the case might have much deeper consequences for the igaming industry and financial law as a whole – particularly in how it pertains to corporate espionage. Questions of what exactly constitutes ‘fair competition’ are already up, and some industry insiders are pointing to a potential Evolution takeover of Playtech.

Either way, the consequences will be much broader than the legal battles of two companies, and the full litigation is expected to last well into 2026.