New Jersey Judge Orders Evolution to Disclose Regulator Communications in Playtech Defamation Case

Court Orders Comprehensive Document Disclosure

Atlantic County Superior Court Judge John C. Porto issued a December 2 order requiring Evolution to produce regulatory communications by December 5, 2025. The directive requires the live dealer supplier to disclose its submissions to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB).

The order also mandates Evolution to provide complete correspondence with both agencies, along with the identities and interview records of everyone questioned during the regulators’ investigations.

This marks the first time communications behind the regulators’ reviews will become part of the litigation record, where portions may later become public through court filings.

Background of the Legal Dispute

Evolution filed its defamation lawsuit in 2022 against Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP, following a complaint the firm filed in 2021 on behalf of an unnamed client with the NJDGE. The complaint was based on an investigative report claiming Evolution’s games were accessible in sanctioned and restricted countries, including Iran, Syria, and Sudan.

Evolution has consistently denied wrongdoing. In February 2024, the NJDGE concluded its investigation and found no evidence that Evolution "sanctioned, promoted, permitted, or otherwise materially benefited" from operators offering its games in prohibited jurisdictions.

Following the regulatory clearance, a New Jersey court ordered Calcagni & Kanefsky to reveal its client’s identity. The firm disclosed that Israeli private investigation firm Black Cube compiled the report. In October 2025, court proceedings identified Playtech as the competitor who commissioned Black Cube to conduct the investigation.

Scope of Required Documents

Judge Porto granted the defendants’ discovery request "in its entirety" under New Jersey’s Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA). The statute allows limited disclosure when defendants argue a lawsuit aims to punish protected expression.

Evolution must provide:

• The February 15, 2024 Spectrum Report sent by the NJDGE to attorney Lloyd Levenson, plus all exhibits and addenda
• All documents and information submitted to the NJDGE or PGCB regarding investigations into the Black Cube allegations
• All communications between Evolution (or its attorneys) and regulators concerning those investigations
• The identities of all individuals interviewed by the NJDGE or PGCB, including interviewer names and dates
• All notes or transcripts from regulator-conducted interviews

Potential Impact on the Case

The requested documents could reshape the narrative in the four-year dispute. Although regulators concluded no wrongdoing occurred, the new disclosures will reveal what information they received, what they requested, and how Evolution responded.

The documents may show three possibilities: they fully support Evolution, demonstrating regulators were satisfied the allegations lacked substance; they complicate Evolution’s narrative, revealing gaps, inconsistencies, or internal concerns about market access; or they fall into a gray zone where regulators found no clear violation but noted areas of uncertainty.

For Evolution, the stakes carry both commercial and legal weight. The company has spent years challenging the investigative report’s findings. For Playtech-linked defendants, the materials could help argue their actions were legitimate rather than malicious fabrication.

A dismissal under UPEPA would significantly narrow Evolution’s claims and shift momentum toward the defendants. A denial would push the dispute into broader document production and depositions.

The defendants in this matter include attorney Ralph Marra, Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP, and B.C. Strategy UK Ltd., the company behind the Black Cube assignment.

Source: CasinoBeats