Evolution vs Black Cube: Why the November Hearing Matters?

Key Points

• Black Cube is set for a critical anti-SLAPP hearing on 16 November, though it won’t be over till weeks later when the judge makes a decision.
• Even if the guys at Evolution manage to survive that hearing, Playtech still can’t just join in unless a judge gives them the green light to do so and they file a fresh motion.
• Black Cube gets the right to appeal, and they might even be able to put the brakes on proceedings if they do.

It isn’t the verdict itself that will decide whether Black Cube’s report on Evolution was true or not, although it will likely tell us what happens with a company that’s still not officially involved, Playtech. See, Black Cube, an Israeli intelligence firm, wants Evolution’s defamation case junked under New Jersey’s anti-SLAPP law, UPEPA. Meanwhile Playtech, whose subsidiary asked for the report, is still an outsider, so why is this hearing so important to them?

What Will the Judge be Deciding on 16 November?

UPEPA, which was signed off on in 2023, lets defendants try and get claims dismissed early if they involve protected speech. Black Cube are saying their reports to regulators qualify for that protection, while Evolution are arguing that a report ordered by a competitor is just commercial speech and doesn’t count. And since UPEPA also excludes certain businesses from being under its umbrella, this could be another area of disagreement.

Under this test for dismissal, Evolution needs to prove a prima facie case for every single part of their claim, that’s to say they need to bring enough evidence to back up their case or the whole thing falls apart. Interestingly, the judge at this hearing is not looking to decide whether Evolution’s defamation case has any actual merit to it. If Evolution wins though, the case can keep moving forward, but that still won’t prove that Black Cube’s report was a load of old codswallop.

NEXT.io is reporting that the general expectation is that the judge won’t just bin the whole lawsuit, after all, it’s already survived a previous attempt to have it thrown out. Even so, UPEPA uses a different set of rules, so that earlier decision doesn’t count for much. The judge could still decide to chuck out certain bits of the case, while letting other bits carry on, and if Black Cube manages to get off scot-free, they may even be able to get Evolution to cough up their legal costs.

Appeals Could Postpone Playtech’s Inclusion

According to NEXT.io, there is a likelihood of an appeal to the New Jersey Supreme Court irrespective of the outcome of the hearing. However, under the statute, only the party that applied is automatically entitled to appeal. Hence, should the judge reject the application by Black Cube, the party will need to file the notice of appeal within 20 days of the order.

An appeal may also postpone the overall case. According to the law, the court is empowered to stay the proceedings concerning all parties while the appeal remains pending. In this regard, a loss by Black Cube does not necessarily imply that Evolution will be able to proceed with the discovery process.

The UPEPA is applicable to all claims that are filed from the October 2023 starting date. In the present case, Evolution filed the suit in 2021, and Black Cube was added in June 2025. Therefore, the dates of the filing of the claims may be relevant in the hearing.

Should Black Cube win the suit, it will further complicate the addition of Playtech. Initially, Evolution had filed the application for inclusion in April, but on 5 June, Judge John Porto turned down that application without prejudice. This means that although the company cannot include Playtech now, it will have to file another motion and get the judge’s permission to do so.

Based on the half-year results published on 10 September, it is evident that no claim had been sent either to Playtech or its subsidiaries. Moreover, according to Playtech, it “stands behind its decision to commission the report and disputes any allegations of unlawful conduct”.

Peel Hunt warns that a trial might lead to the disclosure of lots of information from Evolution and possibly its partners. So far, Playtech has welcomed the trial stage and the opportunity to interrogate Evolution’s executives in court. However, if it is made a defendant in this case, it will also have to disclose its own information.

Black Cube Uses Evolution’s Own Docs To Fight Back

Black Cube’s defence is mainly based on two documents that were derived from Evolution, the Spectrum report and the UK regulatory settlement, which they’re hoping will somehow save them.

The UK Gambling Commission had some major findings about Evolution which looked at five of their games on six websites run by two dodgy businesses that didn’t have a license. Loads of British players had been accessing these sites between December 2023 and November 2024 and the regulator also found some pretty serious weaknesses in Evolution’s systems for spotting money laundering. Evolution ended up coughing up a whopping £4.75 million instead of getting a fine.

Evolution is saying that the Commission’s findings are actually from 2024 and 25 and that Black Cube’s report is from 2021, plus they claim that the two operators involved had actively tried to bend the rules that Evolution had put in place. Black Cube first brought up the settlement back in an Aug filing saying that Evolution hadn’t been fully upfront about what had really gone on in the court. At the same time they renewed their request for more info into Evolution’s communications with the regulators. The Commission’s findings about the shortcomings in Evolution’s systems for Great Britain don’t on their own prove the allegations made back in 2021.

The Spectrum Gaming Group did a review for Evolution in 2022, which ended up being part of the public court record in September. The authors said they didn’t think Evolution had been up to anything dodgy. The review also found that the games were available in places like Hong Kong, Singapore and Saudi Arabia, but that Evolution’s checks on the operators hadn’t been done properly.

Evolution didn’t give any info on session and revenue data for places like Iran, Syria and Sudan so those allegations are basically still up in the air. Playtech are saying that the review actually backs up some of the important bits of Black Cube’s report, but Evolution are saying that Playtech have just picked out the bits that support their own position and are ignoring the rest. The review is from 2022 and doesn’t give you any idea about the state of Evolution’s systems at the time the allegations were made.

Black Cube have also submitted some video recordings that they say show Evolution games being played from places like Iran, Russia and Syria. Evolution is disputing the value of the recordings saying that all they show are private IP addresses and inconsistent timestamps.

From a 2020 Hire to a Five-Year Slapfight

Evolution is saying that Playtech had hired Black Cube back in December 2020, which is a good year before the report even came to light. It was November 2021 when a law firm in New Jersey sent the report to regulators in two states and then, on 16 November, Bloomberg published the allegations and Evolution filed their own lawsuit on 14 Dec.

Evolution reckons the report caused billions of pounds in damage to their business and rep. Regulators in New Jersey and Pennsylvania had closed their investigations in Feb 2024 without taking any action.

In September 2025 the court told Black Cube to spill the beans about who had hired them, and it basically said the report was “completely baseless” based on what the regulator had found. The question of whether the report had actually been defamatory is still up for grabs because the case hasn’t actually gone to trial yet.

Then, on 21 Oct 2025, Evolution finally figured out who the client behind the report was, and it turned out it was Playtech. Playtech sort of admitted that they had commissioned the report but denied the idea that it was part of a smear campaign. Black Cube on the other hand, said they “proudly” submitted their findings in coordination with their client.

Expert Analysis: Monday’s Hearing May Decide Less Than Both Sides Claim

The simple interpretation is that whoever wins on Monday wins the legal battle. We disagree. A split ruling, followed by an appeal and a possible stay, could leave Playtech waiting until 2027 before it knows whether it will face the lawsuit. Peel Hunt says the uncertainty is unlikely to please shareholders of either company. Black Cube has relied heavily on documents produced by Evolution, but neither document settles the allegations made in 2021.

During Playtech’s Q2 2025 earnings call, Mor Weizer was asked whether the company had procured the report. His response was “not a question for us”. That answer sounds evasive to us now that Playtech has publicly stood behind its decision to commission the report.

Evolution also deserves scrutiny. iGaming Business reports that the company tried to delay the release of the Spectrum review, citing commercial sensitivity. We think a company that presents a report as evidence of its own exoneration should welcome its publication. Playtech says it wants discovery to proceed, although that process would also require the company to answer questions under oath about its own involvement.

The allegations made in 2021 about Evolution games being available in Iran, Syria and Sudan still await an answer tested in court.