Evolution asks New Jersey court to add Playtech to defamation litigation

Evolution asked a New Jersey court on 2 October 2026 to add Playtech to its ongoing defamation lawsuit, saying the casino supplier should be party to claims tied to a Playtech-commissioned investigation. The request, made in a letter filed in court and shared with iGaming Expert, seeks Playtech’s inclusion “as soon as practical” after the publication of the Spectrum Report and a subsequent statement by Playtech that Evolution says mischaracterised the report’s findings.

Evolution seeks Playtech’s inclusion in the defamation suit

Evolution is the plaintiff in a defamation action pending in New Jersey that currently names the law firm Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP and the Israeli investigative firm Black Cube as defendants. The two firms were revealed to have been commissioned by a Playtech subsidiary to investigate Evolution’s practices. Evolution’s filing argues Playtech amplified and selectively cited the Black Cube work and related coverage, and that this conduct should make Playtech a defendant in the case.

The company insisted in the court letter that press coverage following the report produced “false and misleading” headlines. Evolution pointed to articles in Bloomberg and the Financial Times that quoted Black Cube material stating Hong Kong, Singapore, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are considered prohibited jurisdictions, while the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement did not treat those jurisdictions as prohibited when Evolution’s initial complaint was filed in 2021.

How the Spectrum Report and Black Cube findings factor into the litigation

Playtech commissioned Black Cube to investigate whether Evolution supplied content into jurisdictions where it should not have operated. Evolution subsequently commissioned the Spectrum Report to scrutinise its own practices; that report was intended as an independent review of the same issues raised by Black Cube.

Evolution alleges that Playtech selectively cited parts of the Spectrum Report to corroborate the accusations arising from the Black Cube investigation. The Spectrum investigators are quoted in Evolution’s filings:

"Spectrum does not believe that Evolution has engaged in any illegal practices," the investigators said, according to Evolution's court filing.

Evolution says Playtech then issued a public statement purporting to validate the accusations. The developer contends those statements and the way they were used in media coverage materially changed the tenor of the reporting and harmed Evolution’s reputation.

Procedural history and the pending UPEPA hearing

Playtech’s involvement has been sought before. Evolution previously moved to add Playtech as a defendant, but the Superior Court of New Jersey dismissed that motion prior to a hearing under New Jersey’s anti-SLAPP statute, enacted as the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA). Black Cube has sought dismissal of the case under that anti-SLAPP framework.

Evolution has told the court it does not want to delay the scheduled UPEPA hearing and prefers an immediate determination after that hearing. The company’s executives expect the litigation to continue through 2026.

Media citations, jurisdictions and the core factual dispute

A point of contention is which jurisdictions Black Cube and later publications characterised as prohibited. Evolution emphasised that Bloomberg and the Financial Times cited Black Cube material stating that Hong Kong, Singapore, the UAE and Saudi Arabia were considered prohibited jurisdictions. The company argues the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement had not designated those jurisdictions as prohibited in its 2021 complaint against Evolution.

That factual divergence—what Black Cube reported, what Spectrum found, and how Playtech presented those findings publicly—sits at the centre of Evolution’s request to add Playtech to the litigation. Evolution asserts that Playtech’s public statement effectively amplified a narrative that Black Cube’s findings and subsequent media coverage presented as definitive.

What adding Playtech would change for the case

If Playtech is joined as a defendant, the action would directly link the party that commissioned Black Cube with the allegedly defamatory material and the publication of statements about the Spectrum Report. For Evolution, adding Playtech would allow discovery into who authorised the Black Cube engagement and how Playtech reviewed and approved public statements related to the investigative work.

Playtech has argued that the Spectrum Report corroborated elements of the Black Cube investigation. Evolution counters that Playtech quoted selectively and that the Spectrum investigators explicitly rejected the claim Evolution engaged in illegal practices. The differing characterisations by the parties set up a factual battle that the New Jersey court will need to resolve in the coming procedural steps.

What operators and observers should watch next

The immediate calendar point is the UPEPA hearing before the New Jersey court in November 2026, which will consider Black Cube’s bid to dismiss the case under the state’s anti-SLAPP law. Evolution has said it does not seek to delay that hearing and prefers a decisive ruling that would clear the way for any motion to add Playtech if the court allows the suit to proceed.

Trade and legal observers should watch the court’s handling of the anti-SLAPP motion and any subsequent ruling on Playtech’s joinder. The dispute also illustrates how investigative firms, their clients and follow-up reporting can become the subject of litigation when jurisdictional claims and public statements intersect. Reporting on this matter has already featured in major outlets including Bloomberg and the Financial Times, and the litigation may prompt further coverage in regulated markets.

For context on regulation and public statements in the sector, see the regulation section and recent coverage in news.

"Playtech should be added to the case as soon as practical," Evolution wrote in the court filing shared with iGaming Expert.

The case remains active and is expected to progress through multiple hearings and discovery stages during 2026.