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Read Full BioPlaytech has been identified as the company that paid Israeli private intelligence firm Black Cube to compile a report exposing Evolution as a supplier to online casinos operating in the black market.
Evolution issued a press release revealing that it learned through discovery that its rival gaming company was behind the controversial report.
It stated, “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 statement provides a timeline of events dating back to 2020, when Playtech hired Black Cube to compile the report on its rival. Playtech has now been included as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by Evolution against Black Cube.
Evolution alleges that high-level Playtech executives, including CEO Mor Weizer, communicated with Black Cube about the investigation and the report.
In the wake of the revelations, Playtech’s stock price plummeted by over 30%, dropping from 339 GBX ($4.53) to 240 GBX ($3.21). The company purchased a further 128,865 shares at an average price of 339.9 GBX on October 20.
In a statement, the company said that “All of the purchased shares are being transferred to the Company’s Employee Benefit Trust.”
‘So Bad That it is Hard to Understand,” Says Evolution CEO
Upon learning that the client paying Black Cube was a rival gaming company, Evolution CEO Martin Carlesund said, “The situation takes away a large piece from my belief in fair play, humanity in general, and good ethics and morals.
“That a company, that is our competitor, can hire a company like Black Cube, hide underneath several layers of other companies, and fabricate false statements about us to harm our business and reputation, is just so bad that it is hard to understand.”
Carlesund has been implicated in the scandal involving secret recordings by Black Cube agents, who claim he had regular briefings on the size of the illegal markets by regional directors. However, he allegedly withheld that information from investors.
Black Cube submitted the recordings in August as part of the ongoing lawsuit Evolution originally filed against law firm Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP, which published the Black Cube report.
Evolution denies that it knowingly supplied the illegal market and claims that any use of its products in these markets results from cybercriminal activity, stream hijacking, or misuse by aggregators.
Black Cube Report Sparks Legal Action Against Evolution
In 2021, Calcagni & Kanefsky, acting on behalf of an unnamed client, filed a complaint with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) against Evolution.
The law firm based its complaint on an investigative report titled “Evolution’s Online Casino Presence in Illegal Markets.” It was later revealed that Black Cube prepared the report. It alleged that Evolution knowingly allowed its games to be accessed in illegal or sanctioned markets, such as Iran, Syria, and Sudan.
“Evolution is fully aware of its end-users’ physical location within the mentioned above illegal markets, via its direct and indirect offerings in these territories.”
The report cited test cases where users from some of these jurisdictions had access to Evolution’s games. It accused the company of:
- Failing to enforce Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols.
- Continuing to collect revenue from prohibited territories.
- Committing licensing breaches in countries including Italy, Spain, and Sweden.
Evolution denied the report’s findings. It emphasized that it’s a business-to-business (B2B) supplier, saying that licensed operators are responsible for player compliance.
In February 2024, the NJDGE concluded its investigation. It found no evidence that Evolution “sanctioned, promoted, permitted, or otherwise materially benefited” from operators offering its games in prohibited jurisdictions.
The regulator noted that Evolution voluntarily implemented compliance enhancements and added that they were “unrelated to any alleged jurisdictional violations.”
Following the clearance, a New Jersey court ordered Calcagni & Kanefsky to reveal the identity of its client. While it disclosed Black Cube’s involvement, it did not name the entity that commissioned the 2021 report.
Many speculated that it was a competitor, with Light & Wonder being the most commonly mentioned. Still, no evidence had surfaced to back those claims—until now.
Evolution’s Countersuit & Black Cube’s Continued Probe
Following the 2021 complaint, Evolution lost over $3 billion in market value. As a result, the company sued Calcagni & Kanefsky, saying the report was “inaccurate, false, defamatory, and methodologically flawed.”
After Evolution’s clearance by the NJDGE, Black Cube increased its investigative efforts to back the accuracy of its findings. In court filings submitted in August 2025, Black Cube provided leaked recordings, claiming to capture former and current Evolution executives allegedly aware that the company’s games can be accessed in countries such as Sudan and Syria.
During discovery, the New Jersey Superior Court ordered Black Cube to disclose the identity of its client. That led to the revelation that Playtech had commissioned and funded the report through intermediary entities.
The court also found the 2021 report to be “objectively baseless” and stated that “no reasonable litigant could expect success on the merits.” The purpose of this court finding was to resolve a preliminary discovery dispute, rather than rule on the validity of the report. Playtech stresses that this finding is not a final ruling, which will come later in the ongoing case.
Playtech Stands By Decision to Commission Report
In response to the revelation that it paid £1.8 million ($2.41 million) to Black Cube to create the damning report against its rival, Playtech released a statement defending its actions.
It said the allegation that it “engaged in a smear campaign is wholly untrue and is designed to distract from serious questions about Evolution’s business practices.”
It went on to note, “Playtech stands by the decision to commission the report. 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.”
Playtech’s statement on the matter, meanwhile, ended by stating, “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 has attempted to position itself as operating only within legal markets and recently announced its withdrawal from sweepstakes casinos in California, citing its cautious approach. In its latest financial reports, it shows that 15% of Playtech’s revenue comes from unregulated markets. In comparison, Evolution’s reports show that 56% of its revenue came from gray markets.
Note: This story has been updated to reflect that the court’s finding on the report is not a final ruling.
