TLDR A New Jersey court rejected Evolution’s request to add Playtech as a defendant in its defamation lawsuit The denial was procedural and issued without prejudice, so Evolution can try again later Playtech paid over £1.8 million to intelligence agency Black Cube to investigate Evolution between 2021 and 2024 Black Cube agents used fake identities and secret recordings to gather material against Evolution Regulators in New Jersey and Pennsylvania dismissed the allegations against Evolution as baseless in 2024 New Jersey Court Rejects Evolution’s Move to Pull Playtech Into Defamation Case
A New Jersey court has rejected Evolution’s attempt to add Playtech as a defendant in its ongoing defamation lawsuit.
The Atlantic County Superior Court denied the motion on June 5. Evolution had filed the request in April, asking to amend its complaint against law firm Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP to include Playtech.
The denial was procedural. Because Evolution also filed a motion for relief from a stay under the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, the court dismissed the amendment request without prejudice.
That means Evolution cannot add Playtech right now, but the door stays open. The company can try again once its case against Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP is resolved.
How the Black Cube Campaign Unfolded
The legal dispute traces back to a covert operation that ran from 2021 to 2024. Court filings show Playtech paid more than £1.8 million to Black Cube, a private intelligence firm, to investigate its Swedish rival Evolution.
Black Cube agents created fake companies, built websites, and posed as investors to get close to Evolution executives. Meetings were secretly recorded. The gathered material was then used to file a complaint with New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Bloomberg reported on the complaint in 2021. Evolution’s stock fell nearly 30% in a week