Evolution has named rival gaming supplier Playtech as the anonymous company behind the damaging 2021 report into Evolution’s alleged business practices.
Evolution said in a statement Tuesday that Playtech was the company that commissioned the investigation firm Black Cube to prepare and disseminate the 2021 report, which it described as highly inflammatory and knowingly false.
The company maintains that the false claims in the report were intended to substantially harm it for anti-competitive reasons.
“It is deeply disturbing to learn that one of our competitors has gone to such extraordinary lengths to damage our business and reputation by hiring Black Cube and paying them over £1.8 million to fabricate a report they knew would have extremely harmful repercussions,” said Evolution.
“The report, which was furnished to regulators by a law firm representing Black Cube, Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP, and purposely leaked to the media, was determined by two state regulators in the U.S. to be lacking in evidentiary support. Later, the New Jersey Superior Court also determined that the defamatory report was untruthful and lacked veracity. Notwithstanding those findings, dissemination of the report has resulted in multi-billion dollar damage to our company.
The statement continues: “Black Cube has a well-documented history of using deceitful methods to sway public opinion by launching smear campaigns on behalf of its clients. As part of its so-called investigation, Black Cube used highly unethical tactics, including initiating meetings with current and former Evolution employees and board members under false pretences and secretly recording those interactions; using disguises and falsified identities; and cherry-picking edited recordings to fabricate evidence to achieve its desired, false narrative. It is notable that the subjects of Black Cube’s report disavowed the allegations and said the report entirely misrepresented their comments.”
The identity of the company that commissioned the report can be revealed after Evolution successfully sued Calcagni & Kanefsky in New Jersey Superior Court, with the presiding judge finding that the firm “prepared and disseminated false allegations about [Evolution’s] business practices that were designed to harm, and did harm, [Evolution’s] business.” The judge ordered the firm to reveal the identity of the parties responsible for the report.
The statement from Evolution concludes: “Although Playtech has finally been identified after years of trying to keep its involvement in this smear campaign a secret, Black Cube continues to evade the Court’s discovery orders by withholding relevant information. We will continue to hold Black Cube, Playtech, and all the other players in this defamatory scheme responsible for their misconduct. We are confident in our legal position and look forward to finally holding Playtech and its accomplices to account for the significant harm they have caused.”
UPDATE:
In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Playtech said that the suggestion that its subsidiary, Playtech Software Limited (PTS), engaged in a smear campaign is “wholly untrue and is designed to distract from serious questions about Evolution’s business practices.”
“PTS commissioned an independent business intelligence firm to investigate credible and repeated concerns raised by operators, suppliers and regulators about Evolution’s activities in prohibited and sanctioned markets, and its supply to unlicensed operators in regulated markets,” said Playtech. “The investigation was undertaken lawfully to better understand and verify concerns of significant regulatory and commercial importance.
“The report published, as a result of the investigation, clearly evidences that Evolution’s business practices undermine lawful and compliant gambling operations. Such conduct damages trust in the credibility of the entire industry and also ultimately impacts government tax collection.”
Playtech added that it stands by the decision to commission the report.
“Evolution continues to seek to avoid legitimate scrutiny rather than address longstanding questions about its conduct, including its decision to supply operators in illegal markets and to support unlicensed operators in regulated markets,” continued Playtech.
“Playtech welcomes court examination of the report and its findings. Playtech is confident that these proceedings will confirm the credibility and legitimacy of the investigation and the importance of the issues it seeks to address.”
Shares in Evolution AB (STO:EVO) were trading 2.23 per cent higher on the news at SEK734.80 per share in Stockholm Tuesday, while shares in Playtech plc. (LSE:PTEC) were down 28.05 per cent at 247.50 pence per share.