Key Points
- Black Cube filed on 3 August 2026, citing the UKGC settlement and Galaxy Gaming collapse as proof Evolution has not been forthright with the court.
- The UK Gambling Commission found Evolution breached four anti-money laundering licence conditions between December 2023 and November 2024, and considered suspending its licence before agreeing a £4.75m settlement.
- Evolution insists neither regulatory development is connected to the original 2021 Black Cube report, and will file a formal court response in due course.
Black Cube Points to Evolution’s Regulatory Record in New Court Push
On 3 August 2026, Black Cube filed a new legal motion in the ongoing New Jersey defamation case, arguing that two recent regulatory setbacks suffered by Evolution confirm the live casino supplier has not been candid with the court. The firm cited the £4.75m settlement with the UK Gambling Commission and the collapsed Galaxy Gaming acquisition as grounds to revive a previously denied request for discovery covering Evolution’s communications with regulators worldwide.
The filing stated: “Black Cube writes today because in the last two weeks, extraordinary events have confirmed Black Cube’s suspicion that Evolution has not been forthright with the court on matters that are essential to the resolution of the pending UPEPA motions.”
Evolution declined to comment but confirmed it would file a formal response in due course, maintaining that neither development is connected to the conduct described in the original 2021 Black Cube report.
What Is the UKGC Settlement Actually Involved?
The UK Gambling Commission’s settlement, published on 23 July 2026, centred on Evolution supplying live casino content to unlicensed operators targeting UK consumers. Between December 2023 and November 2024, Evolution games appeared on six websites run by two unlicensed operators, with the Commission recording large volumes of UK traffic to those sites during that period.
Four specific licence condition breaches were recorded. Evolution’s anti-money laundering risk assessment was found to be outdated and did not account for the possibility of its games reaching UK consumers through unlicensed operators. Separate breaches related to its failure to maintain effective AML procedures, a gap between its documented compliance framework and actual practice, and inadequate customer due diligence measures.
John Pierce, director of enforcement at the UKGC, said: “This case exposed serious weaknesses in Evolution’s anti-money laundering risk assessment and its oversight of risks within its supply chain. The company’s AML risk assessment was outdated and failed to adequately consider the risk of its games being made available through unlicensed operators. As a result, there was a significant gap between the controls on paper and their effectiveness in practice.”
The Commission said the breaches were serious enough for licence suspension to be considered. Evolution acknowledged the failings, agreed to pay £4.75m directed to socially responsible causes, and committed to an independent third-party audit of its AML and safer gambling controls. In its own statement, Evolution noted the Commission found no wider pattern of its games appearing on unlicensed UK-facing sites. Black Cube’s filing pointed specifically to the four compliance failures and the consideration of suspension as evidence that Evolution’s regulatory position was more serious than the company had presented to the court.
Galaxy Gaming: Two Years, $85m and No Deal
Evolution officially ended its merger with Galaxy Gaming on 21st July 2026, marking the end of an $85 million deal that was originally unveiled in July 2024. However, because the expiration of the closing period fell on 17th July without getting all regulatory approvals, Evolution decided to terminate the agreement and pay Galaxy a termination fee of $5.2 million.
Several gaming regulators had approved the merger, including the Mississippi Gaming Commission. Nevada had not. Evolution CEO Martin Carlesund said during the company’s Q2 results call that the outcome had “no material impact” on its business or US operations, given Galaxy’s size relative to Evolution’s overall scale.
Black Cube drew a direct line between the Nevada delay and guidance the Nevada Gaming Control Board published in January 2026, which bars licensees from operating in what it defines as “prohibited jurisdictions,” a list that includes China, Iran and Russia. Black Cube attached a NEXT.io analysis of that guidance as a court exhibit, arguing the Nevada situation reinforced the case for renewed discovery. Analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn had separately suggested Nevada may have been waiting on the UKGC outcome before moving on the acquisition, though neither regulator publicly confirmed this.
The Case Behind the Filing
The defamation dispute traces back to 2021, when Black Cube produced a 118-page report alleging Evolution knowingly allowed its casino games to operate in sanctioned and prohibited markets, including Iran, Syria, Sudan, China and Thailand. The report was submitted to the New Jersey Supreme Court through law firm Calcagni & Kanefsky and leaked to the media, causing an estimated $10 billion loss in Evolution’s market capitalisation. Two US state regulators subsequently concluded the report lacked evidentiary support, and the New Jersey Superior Court described it as lacking veracity.
The identity of the commissioning company remained confidential for years, until October 2025 when NEXT.io revealed it was Playtech, which paid Black Cube more than £1.8m for the work. High-level Playtech executives, including then-CEO Mor Weizer, were found to have communicated directly with Black Cube during the investigation. Playtech rejected the characterisation, stating it had commissioned independent analysis into concerns about Evolution’s activities in prohibited and sanctioned markets.
Carlesund said at the time: “That a company that is our competitor can hire a company like Black Cube, hide underneath several layers of other companies and fabricate false statements about us to harm our business and reputation, is just so bad that it is hard to understand.”
Where Does the Case Stand?
Much of 2026 has been spent in procedural disputes. Black Cube has sought court orders compelling Evolution to disclose its global regulatory communications; Evolution has resisted, calling the request a tactic to prolong proceedings. The court sided with Evolution on that motion, though it separately ordered the deposition of Black Cube director Avi Yanus, which remains incomplete.
The 3 August filing concluded: “These remarkable developments confirm the misleading nature of Evolution’s statements to the court concerning its interactions with regulators around the world. They also plainly show why Black Cube’s November 2021 report was anything but a ‘sham.'”
Evolution’s response, when filed, is expected to maintain that the UKGC settlement and Galaxy termination are entirely separate from the conduct the report described.
Expert Analysis
The UKGC settlement is a documented, institutional finding of specific compliance failures during a defined period. The Galaxy termination reflects regulatory caution that multiple analysts connected to the UK licence process. Black Cube has used both to rebuild a discovery argument the court previously rejected. Whether they are legally relevant to the pending UPEPA motions is a question for the New Jersey court. What they have done is give Black Cube fresh, verifiable regulatory findings to cite as the case moves towards trial.
Share
3 views
