Playtech offered to pay private intelligence firm Black Cube £500,000 if one of Evolution’s licences was revoked as a result of its 2021 investigation into its alleged activities in prohibited markets.
Reporting from Zak Thomas-Akoo and Sonja Lindenberg.
New court filings submitted in New Jersey today (3 November) detailed previously unreported aspects of Playtech’s relationship with Black Cube, gleaned through a deposition of the firm’s sole director Dr. Avi Yanus.
It follows the blockbuster revelation last month that Playtech was the mystery client which contracted Black Cube to investigate Evolution’s conduct in prohibited jurisdictions, and whether it had violated US sanctions.
The investigation was carried out through clandestine means, including by disguised veterans of Israel’s intelligence services secretly recording conversations with Evolution executives.
The information was itself revealed as part of a multi-year defamation case Evolution launched against white collar litigation firm Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP, which had acted as the report’s public face, following a decision by the Garden State’s Supreme Court.
For Playtech’s part, the B2B iGaming company previously told NEXT.io it stands behind the decision to commission the report, and – rejecting claims that it took part in a smear campaign – said it was trying to verify legitimate concerns with Evolution’s business practices.
A Playtech spokesperson told NEXT.io today: “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.”
Playtech offered Black Cube ‘success fees’
In the newly submitted court documents, it was revealed that Black Cube had signed two letters of engagement (LOEs) with Playtech as part of their relationship, with the first dated 30 December 2020 and the second signed in May or June 2022.
In both letters, Black Cube outlined “success fees” payable to Black Cube for achieving certain outcomes pre-determined at the time the LOEs were signed.
As stated in his deposition, Dr. Yanus said: “…there are conditions of success fee which obviously make clear the goals.”
In the first letter, Black Cube was offered £150,000 if it found evidence of wrongdoing, £175,000 if an article was published in a major media outlet, £350,000 if a regulator began an investigation and £500,000 if one of the business’ licences was revoked.
Following the report’s release, Playtech paid Black Cube £675,000 in success fees for the satisfaction of the first three goals.
Public relations professional Juda S. Engelmayer’s firm HeraldPR was employed to engage with media outlets about the report, with Bloomberg becoming the first outlet to publish the story.
Regulators in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, which were both sent a copy, also launched separate inquiries, although these were later closed without finding evidence of wrongdoing.
The New Jersey decision in particular was the basis of the New Jersey court’s decision to unmask Playtech and Black Cube as the entities behind the report, with the judge describing it as “objectively baseless” at this time.
It should be noted the merits of the case have not yet been decided, with the judge stating “procedurally, this case is still at its infancy” in a February 2025 ruling.
Meanwhile, the second LOE included a supplemental investigation into Evolution using the same methodologies, with success fees including £150,000 for a new article to be published in mainstream media – which was achieved – and £200,000 if one of Evolution’s licences was revoked.
In addition to these fees, Dr. Yanus confirmed Playtech is paying for all of Black Cube’s legal fees and is also reimbursing the business for paying Calcagni & Kanefsky’s bills.
The total amount that has been spent on these legal bills has amounted to millions of pounds, according to the court documents.
Other information included in the report was that – in addition to CEO Mor Weizer – four other Playtech employees communicated with Black Cube over the report and subsequent investigation.
These included its former CFO, the ex-CEO of Playtech Live, a senior vice president and the firm’s vice president of business development.
Dr. Yanus says covert techniques needed to reveal truth
When discussing the hiring of local agents to attempt to access Evolution games in illegal markets, Dr. Yanus testified he would never pay a success fee to them because it would incentivise them to fabricate evidence to achieve the desired result.
Meanwhile, Dr. Yanus confirmed Black Cube agents used fake identities when interviewing subjects and surreptitiously recorded conversations without their knowledge or approval.
He said: “…our methodology is the only way to reveal the truth and to get accurate information.”
The director added it was made very clear in each of the LOEs what Black Cube’s investigative tactics would include, that Playtech was fully aware of these, and that it never raised any concerns.
The private intelligence firm is now fighting efforts in the courts to reveal the names of its secret agents that themselves used false identities, including posing as representatives of a Sudanese billionaire interested in investing in the Nordic tech sector.
Black Cube claims the agents – veterans of Mossad and Israel’s counter-intelligence agency Shin Bet – could be at risk of harm and have their livelihoods destroyed if unmasked.
It has been noted the company had no such reservations publicising the names of the Evolution employees who were spied on, some of whom have suffered professional consequences as a result of being named.
Other details submitted in the new documents included information showing that – while the initial 2021 NJDGE report was submitted without videos – Black Cube later put forward five “selected investigative game play recordings” in support of its findings, through Calcagni & Kanefsky.
This was a showcase of the “best materials” recorded, according to the deposition, chosen to convince the New Jersey regulator that Evolution had been acting in an illegal way.
Other recordings that showed Black Cube could not access Evolution games in some circumstances were not submitted, with Dr. Yanus stating: “I definitely know that there is a bunch of video…that contain attempts that we didn’t manage to access games, and it doesn’t undermine in any way my conclusions.
“So even in a case that I will have a million unsuccessful attempts, and 100 or a thousand successful attempts, it still mean [sic] that there is an option to gamble from forbidden countries.”
Dr. Yanus added during the deposition: “You are repeating, repeating, repeating, lying to shareholders, lying to court, lying to the public day after day, including in your public statement that was published yesterday.”
The director also testified Black Cube agents had interviewed 20 people, with only six interviews ultimately being submitted to the NJDGE.
When explaining the omission of the other interviews from the report, Dr. Yanus said: “I know what is the purpose of the report,” and “…if someone, for example, has been asked about Evolution gambling in forbidden countries and says simply ‘I don’t know,’ so I don’t see any relevance…”
The director was also shown evidence of Black Cube’s agents using multiple IP addresses and VPNs to mask their location and circumvent geo-blocking technology to prevent access in prohibited jurisdictions.
He said: “I don’t care if he [the local agent in Tehran] used any kind of technology, basic technology, to make Evolution believe that he is not in Tehran because the evidence shows that Evolution knowingly allowed this to happen, knowingly allowed to him or to any other players in Tehran to play with their games.
“I don’t think it makes any difference and I don’t think that my conclusions of the report should be different, even if those technological action, as you said, was implemented by the local agent in Tehran.”
A Black Cube spokesperson told NEXT.io: “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 extensive body of evidence, including countless hours of video and audio recordings, leaves no room for doubt: Evolution knowingly and deliberately allowed its games to operate in sanctioned jurisdictions and black markets – both before and after the report’s submission.
“By doing so, Evolution misled the public, the court, and regulatory authorities. Now, the truth will prevail.