Stockholm-listed gambling technology firm Evolution AB has suffered a setback in its ongoing legal dispute in the US.
The Superior Court of New Jersey in Atlantic County has denied its request to add fellow gaming tech provider Playtech as a defendant in the firm’s defamation lawsuit against law firm Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP.
According to court documents filed on 5 June, the court rejected Evolution’s motion to amend its complaint after the company sought to include Playtech in the case.
The lawsuit stems from Playtech’s reported decision to hire private intelligence firm Black Cube to investigate Evolution’s business practices. Evolution alleges the report was commissioned to damage a competitor in the online casino market.
Evolution and Playtech at loggerheads
The Black Cube report, revealed last October, claimed Evolution was operating illegally in several jurisdictions, providing its gaming titles to companies active in markets where gambling is illegal or a legal grey area.
Evolution uncovered this and claimed that Playtech, listed on the London Stock Exchange, hired Black Cube in December 2020 to produce a false report which alleged actions of misconduct.
At the time, a Playtech spokesperson said that it welcomed court examination of the report and its findings, adding that “the discovery process will provide access to Evolution’s internal documents and require Evolution’s personnel to give sworn testimony under oath [which] will vindicate Playtech’s position”.
Despite Playtech’s firm stance, its shares at the time crashed hugely, dropping from 336p to 266p in just one day. However, the company’s public stock has somewhat recovered since and is now trading at around 322p as of today.
In terms of the latest update though, Calcagni & Kanefsky subsequently submitted the Black Cube report to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), prompting investigations by both the DGE and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
Despite this, neither regulator ultimately took enforcement action against Evolution.
In its proposed amended complaint, the business alleged Playtech paid approximately £1.8m to Black Cube for the investigation and sought to bring claims including trade libel, fraud and racketeering against Playtech.
The company also attempted to add public relations consultant Juda Engelmayer and other individuals as defendants.
As stated above, Playtech has maintained that commissioning the investigation was lawful and appropriate, describing the litigation as a “contingent liability”.
The court also rejected Evolution’s request for relief under the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA), an anti-SLAPP law designed to protect against lawsuits intended to suppress free speech.
As a result, the company will now proceed to a hearing in November 2026 involving Black Cube and Calcagni & Kanefsky, where the parties will continue to contest claims surrounding the allegedly defamatory report, and when we may finally expect to get a definitive ruling on this long-standing dispute.
