After four years of court battles and conjecture, Playtech has been revealed as the entity behind a controversial investigation into Swedish gaming supplier, Evolution. With both sides claiming to be on the right side of history, BonusFinder – an online casinos comparison site – evaluates how this drama began, where it’s heading and explores which outfit is telling the truth.
A statement released by Evolution on 21 October accused its industry rival of hiring a private investigator, Black Cube, to spy on in-house practices, in what the organization has dubbed a “smear campaign“.
Playtech denies engaging in a smear campaign – but has since acknowledged that it led a probe that sought to “investigate credible and repeated concerns raised by operators, suppliers and regulators about Evolution’s activities.”
In the Playtech-backed report, Evolution is accused of operating illegal gambling services in China, Sudan and Iran; three markets where online and retail gambling is prohibited.
Meanwhile, Evolution maintains that Playtech fabricated “false allegations” in a bid to damage its reputation amid important acquisitions and increasing competitiveness.
Playtech funded a secret investigation into Evolution in 2021…
This story begins in 2021 – when Playtech hired Israeli private investigation firm, Black Cube, to unearth suspected black-hat practices at Evolution.
In November 2021, Bloomberg reported that an anonymous competitor of Evolution was being represented by an Attorney to expose Evolution’s alleged misdemeanors.
It is now understood that Playtech was the hidden entity behind this inquiry, and that a New Jersey-based law firm, Calcagni & Kanefsky, spearheaded the legal attack using information compiled by Black Cube.
Just one month after that story broke, Evolution initiated legal action of its own by suing Calcagni & Kanefsky, as well as other then-anonymous bodies, for defamation, fraud and additional transgressions.
Then, in early 2024, US regulators announced that the case brought against Evolution failed to prove any malpractice.
That case was, and remains, closed.
Evolution’s defence turns into a full-scale attack
Alarmingly for Playtech, in February 2025, a New Jersey court ruled that Calcagni and Kanefsky must disclose the names of the anonymous firms for whom the firm was representing. Calcagni and Kanefsky obliged this request by revealing Black Cube as the private investigator behind the anti-Evolution report.
Still, Playtech had not yet been mentioned as a participant in the case. In fact, Calcagni and Kanefsky asserted that they were not privy to the name of the entity that had solicited the original findings.
At the beginning of summer 2025, Evolution modified its existing lawsuit – at this point four years old – to include Black Cube. Specifically, Black Cube was accused of the development and distribution of the failed litigation targeting Evolution.
In August 2025, Avi Yanus, Black Cube Founder and a central figure in the preparation of the 2021 report, attempted to present new evidence against Evolution. But once more, the private investigator’s claims were thrown out in court.
By this point, it had become clear that Playtech’s case was not only dead, but that the British outfit would likely be named as a willing contributor to the failed report.
September and October 2025 marked pivotal periods in Evolution’s counter-attack on what it calls “malicious and misleading” accusations. Black Cube, firmly against the wall after successive failures, is directed to provide its client’s identity to the New Jersey Superior Court.
The intelligence organization complied with the request by declaring Playtech as the founding, funding entity behind Black Cube’s investigation. Evolution later confirmed that it will update its lawsuit to add Playtech as a defendant.
Evolution accuses Black Cube of “deceitful” tactics in statement
In the wake of Playtech being unveiled as the mystery requester backing Black Cube’s private investigation, Evolution admonished its longstanding competitor in a statement:
“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 £1.8m ($1.3m) to fabricate a report they knew would have extremely harmful repercussions.”
The online casino game provider went on to accuse those behind the report of deliberately divulging its details to the media: “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 US to be lacking in evidentiary support.”
In particular, Evolution criticized Black Cube for undertaking “smear campaigns” and pointed to the firm’s supposed insincere investigative activities: “Black Cube has a well-documented history of using deceitful methods to sway public opinion by launching smear campaigns on behalf of its clients.
“As part of its so-called investigation, Black Cube used highly unethical tactics, including initiating meetings with current and former Evolution employees and Board members under false pretences and secretly recording those interactions; using disguises and falsified identities; and cherry-picking edited recordings to fabricate evidence to achieve its desired, false narrative.”
The statement concluded with a word on upcoming court trials – as Evolution seeks to “finally” hold Playtech, Black Cube and Calcagni & Kanefsky categorically responsible for alleged damages: “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.”
Playtech stands firm despite court ruling
Playtech’s share price has dropped by over 16% in the days since being revealed as the primary sponsor of Black Cube’s investigation.
Nevertheless, the Isle of Man-headquartered developer has called suggestions that it headed a smear campaign “wholly untrue” and insists that “serious questions about Evolution’s business practices” remain unanswered.
Defending the legitimacy of Black Cube’s investigation, Playtech stated: “The investigation was undertaken lawfully to better understand and verify concerns of significant regulatory and commercial importance.”
Despite courts branding the Playtech-led report “objectively baseless“, the content developer remains unwavering in its support for Black Cube’s findings. According to Playtech, the report “clearly evidences that Evolution’s business practices undermine lawful and compliant gambling operations.”
And, like Evolution, Playtech recently communicated faith in upcoming legal proceedings: “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.”
This story is far from over – as Evolution will soon take on Playtech and its “accomplices” in what may be an extended court battle.
