Shares of Playtech Plc (LSE:PTEC) declined more than 3% on Thursday after Evolution AB announced it had asked a U.S. court to include Playtech as a defendant in an ongoing defamation case.
Evolution said it submitted a request to the Superior Court of New Jersey seeking permission to amend its complaint so that Playtech, along with Black Cube, Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP, and other parties, would be formally named in the lawsuit. The company alleges that these parties were involved in a campaign aimed at spreading defamatory allegations about its business.
“It continues to be disappointing that a direct competitor would go to such extreme lengths to orchestrate a covert campaign designed to harm our business and avoid competing fairly in the marketplace,” Evolution said in a statement.
According to Evolution, Playtech hired the intelligence firm Black Cube to prepare and distribute a report that contained false claims about Evolution’s operations. The report was allegedly circulated to regulators and media outlets.
Evolution further accused Playtech of trade libel, fraud, and racketeering, adding that the company did not disclose its alleged role in the matter to shareholders despite what Evolution described as the involvement of Chief Executive Mor Weizer.
The legal dispute began in December 2021 when Evolution filed a lawsuit in New Jersey targeting the law firm Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP and unidentified parties responsible for the report. Black Cube was later added to the list of defendants.
Evolution said the report had been submitted in November 2021 to both the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, accompanied by a cover letter from the law firm.
U.S. regulators ultimately closed their investigations in February 2024 without taking any action. Evolution pointed to findings by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement stating there was “no evidence … showing that Evolution took illegal bets from New Jersey, another state, or any other prohibited jurisdiction.”
According to court documents cited by Evolution, the New Jersey Superior Court ordered the disclosure of the report’s authorship in 2025 and later characterised the report as “objectively baseless.”
Evolution said Black Cube was eventually compelled to identify Playtech as the party that commissioned the report. The lawsuit, which was first filed in December 2021, remains ongoing in New Jersey.
Leave a Reply