Court keeps Playtech out of Evolution suit

• A New Jersey judge denied Evolution’s bid to add Playtech as a defendant in its defamation case on June 5, 2026, with both motions denied without prejudice.
• The ruling was procedural, tied to ongoing anti-SLAPP proceedings under the state’s Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, not a judgment on the merits.
• A hearing involving Evolution, Black Cube, and Calcagni & Kanefsky is scheduled for November 2026, with retired U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler appointed as special adjudicator.

A New Jersey court has rejected Evolution’s attempt to formally add Playtech as a defendant in its defamation lawsuit over a disputed 2021 intelligence report.

The order, issued June 5, 2026, by the Atlantic County Superior Court, leaves the door open for Evolution to renew its request once the current proceedings advance.

Case origins

The dispute began in December 2021, when Evolution sued law firm Calcagni & Kanefsky over a report alleging the live casino supplier operated in restricted jurisdictions, including China, Iran, and Sudan. The report was prepared by private intelligence firm Black Cube on behalf of an unnamed client.

When Bloomberg published the allegations, Evolution’s stock dropped nearly 30% in a week. The company has described the report as “inaccurate, false, defamatory, and methodologically flawed.”

In February 2024, New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement closed its investigation and found no evidence that Evolution had broken the rules. Court filings in 2025 identified Playtech as the client that commissioned Black Cube, paying the firm more than £1.8 million (approximately $2.4 million) between 2021 and 2024 to investigate its rival.

Court documents exposed a payment structure weighted toward damaging outcomes for Evolution. Playtech agreed to pay Black Cube an initial retainer, followed by performance-based bonuses, including a £500,000 payment if Evolution lost any gaming licenses.

Black Cube ultimately collected £675,000 in success payments after achieving the first three agreed objectives. The revelations sent Playtech’s own shares down roughly 25%.

Those disclosures prompted Evolution to seek Playtech’s inclusion in the lawsuit in April 2026. The amended filing accused Playtech of trade libel, fraud, and racketeering, and named Playtech chief executive Mor Weizer in connection with statements made to investors. Public relations consultant Juda Engelmayer and other individuals were also added as defendants.

Evolution said in an April 2026 statement:

“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.”

Playtech rejected the allegations, describing the dispute as a “contingent liability” and standing by both its decision to commission the investigation and the validity of its findings. The company said:

“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.”

Anti-SLAPP hurdle

Judge John C. Porto denied both Evolution’s motion to file a second amended complaint and its bid to lift a stay imposed under UPEPA, New Jersey’s anti-SLAPP statute. The court did not explain its reasoning.

Sources familiar with the New Jersey legal system, cited by NEXT.io, said the decision was procedural and linked to Black Cube’s separate motion to dismiss the case under the same law. It was not a ruling on the substance of Evolution’s claims against Playtech.

That distinction matters. If the anti-SLAPP proceedings conclude without a dismissal, Evolution retains the right to renew its request to add Playtech at a later stage of the proceedings.

November hearing

A hearing covering Evolution, Black Cube, and Calcagni & Kanefsky is set for November 2026.

Retired U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler has been appointed as special adjudicator to resolve outstanding discovery disputes, including matters connected to an internal compliance review Evolution conducted with outside assistance. Court filings confirm Kugler will be compensated at $900 per hour by the parties.

The central question the proceedings have yet to resolve is whether Playtech’s commissioning of the Black Cube report constituted a coordinated campaign to damage a competitor, as Evolution alleges, or a legitimate compliance inquiry, as Playtech maintains.

Playtech’s North American expansion continues regardless of the current outcome. Its iPoker network debuted in the region in June 2026 via a FanDuel partnership.