Two giants in the online gambling industry are engaged in an explosive legal battle involving an alleged “smear campaign.”
On Tuesday, Evolution AB — a Swedish developer of online gambling software and technology valued at about $15 billion USD — said that its rival Playtech was behind false allegations that Evolution was doing business in so-called “grey markets” and countries under U.S. sanctions — such as Iran and Syria.
Evolution said that Playtech paid a “controversial investigation firm” called Black Cube to conduct a sham investigation and “disseminate” the findings. In 2021, Bloomberg published a story on the allegations that Evolution was allegedly taking illegal bets in various countries. Evolution’s stock declined in the weeks and months after the report.
According to Evolution, the report was damaging to its business in the U.S. online gambling market. Americans lost roughly $22.1 billion to state-sanctioned online gambling in 2024.
Evolution’s Statement on Playtech Lawsuit
Evolution said the Playtech-funded investigation was “intended to substantially harm the company for anti-competitive reasons.”
Below is the company’s full statement from its press release.
“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 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 U.S. to be lacking in evidentiary support. Later, the New Jersey Superior Court also determined that the defamatory report was untruthful and lacked veracity. Notwithstanding those findings, dissemination of the report has resulted in multi-billion dollar damage to our company.
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 pretenses and secretly recording those interactions; using disguises and falsified identities; and cherry picking edited recordings to fabricate evidence to achieve its desired, false narrative. It is notable that the subjects of Black Cube’s report disavowed the allegations and said the report entirely misrepresented their comments.
We sued the law firm and its then-anonymous co-conspirators for defamation, trade libel, and other illegal conduct in 2021. After years of litigation, the New Jersey Superior Court judge presiding over the case found Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP, its client, and the report’s ultimate sponsor ‘prepared and disseminated false allegations about [Evolution’s] business practices that were designed to harm, and did harm, [Evolution’s] business,’ and ordered Defendants to reveal the identity of the parties responsible for the report.
Although Playtech has finally been identified after years of trying to keep its involvement in this smear campaign a secret, Black Cube continues to evade the Court’s discovery orders by withholding relevant information. We will continue to hold Black Cube, Playtech, and all the other players in this defamatory scheme responsible for their misconduct. 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 Response
Following Evolution’s statement, the Isle of Man-based Playtech issued the following announcement.
“Playtech plc (LSE: PTEC) (“Playtech” or the “Company”) notes the statement made today by Evolution AB (“Evolution”). 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.
The report published, as a result of the investigation, clearly evidences that Evolution’s business practices undermine lawful and compliant gambling operations. Such conduct damages trust in the credibility of the entire industry and also ultimately impacts government tax collection.
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 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.”
What Matters Here
Countless people have been harmed in innumerable ways by addiction stemming from the use of online casino products. Evolution and Playtech have supplied software and technology to state-sanctioned U.S. online gambling operators.
It’s revealing when two giants in the sector appear determined to harm each other. Of course, competitors across various industries engage in unsavory and potentially illegal conduct to gain an advantage. If Evolution’s allegations in this case are true, it is not unique in this way. Playtech is steadfast in its assertions that Evolution has facilitated illegal online gambling.
The Financial Times did call it an “extraordinary public spat.”
“Hiring a corporate intelligence firm to produce a dossier on a rival’s practices, and submitting it to regulators, is an unusual move for a large, listed business,” FT reported.
Nonetheless, the Evolution versus Playtech lawsuit — which appears to be far from over — is another reminder that the online casino industry should not be legalized in additional states. As of 2025, seven states permitted online casinos.
Image by Sergei Tokmakov, Esq. from Pixabay
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