Fresh court filings in New Jersey have shed light on the depth of Playtech’s involvement with Black Cube, revealing that the gaming supplier paid the intelligence firm hundreds of thousands of pounds for a covert operation targeting Evolution AB. The revelations follow years of speculation surrounding a 2021 report that accused Evolution of conducting business in prohibited jurisdictions — allegations regulators later dismissed as baseless.

Playtech’s Deal with Black Cube

Documents submitted on 3 November 2025 describe two letters of engagement between Playtech and Black Cube, signed in December 2020 and mid-2022. According to testimony from Dr. Avi Yanus, the firm’s sole director, Playtech offered “success fees” tied to specific outcomes. Black Cube stood to receive £150,000 for uncovering alleged wrongdoing, £175,000 if major media coverage followed, £350,000 if regulators opened an inquiry, and £500,000 should Evolution lose a licence.

After the report’s 2021 release, Playtech paid £675,000 for meeting the first three benchmarks. The investigation’s results were passed to Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP, a New Jersey law firm hired to submit the findings to regulators in the United States.

A Playtech spokesperson told NEXT.io: “There has been no ruling that the allegations in the Black Cube report are false. Black Cube testified, just days ago, that Evolution continues to operate in sanctioned markets even in October 2025. Playtech welcomes court examination of the report and is confident the truth will prevail.”

The operation employed veterans of Israeli intelligence services, who used fake identities and secretly recorded conversations with Evolution staff. Dr. Yanus stated these methods were “the only way to reveal the truth and to get accurate information.” He confirmed that Playtech was aware of the tactics and raised no objections.

Agents posed as investors representing a fictitious Sudanese billionaire interested in Nordic technology ventures. Black Cube has resisted court demands to identify the operatives, arguing disclosure could endanger them. Ironically, Evolution employees who were recorded during the sting were named publicly, with several suffering reputational consequences.

The first report, submitted without video evidence, was followed by a second round of submissions that included what Yanus described as “selected investigative gameplay recordings.” These clips, chosen to illustrate alleged access to Evolution games from restricted territories, omitted instances where access attempts failed. Regulators in New Jersey and Pennsylvania reviewed the claims but ultimately closed their investigations without finding wrongdoing.

Evolution’s Legal Response

Evolution filed a defamation and trade libel suit in December 2021 against Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP and the unknown backers behind the report. Over subsequent years, the company fought to uncover the identities of those involved. The New Jersey Superior Court later ruled that the report was “not truthful,” describing it as “objectively baseless” and noting that “no reasonable litigant could expect success on the merits.”

By February 2025, the court had directed Calcagni & Kanefsky to disclose its anonymous client and the report’s author, leading to the exposure of Black Cube as the intelligence firm behind the operation. Playtech’s role as the commissioning client was confirmed later, following the firm’s failed appeals to keep its name sealed.

Evolution has since amended its lawsuit to include both Black Cube and Playtech as defendants. The case now proceeds toward a full trial expected to extend into 2026, focusing on the creation, funding, and dissemination of what Evolution describes as a defamatory and malicious campaign designed to damage its reputation.

Despite mounting legal setbacks, Black Cube maintains that its findings are valid. A spokesperson for the firm said: “Black Cube proudly submitted its findings in coordination with its client. The case now enters its decisive stage – where years of Black Cube’s intelligence work will finally be brought to light and thoroughly examined.” The firm insists that Evolution “knowingly and deliberately allowed its games to operate in sanctioned jurisdictions and black markets.”

Playtech, for its part, continues to deny any wrongdoing, asserting that its efforts were intended to verify legitimate compliance concerns rather than orchestrate a smear campaign.