Playtech Bonuses Linked to Evolution Black Cube Report

Details about the financial incentives offered by Playtech in the Black Cube report into rival Evolution’s business practices have been revealed in an ongoing court case.

Evolution recently revealed Playtech was the company that commissioned the infamous report, which it said had a damaging impact on the firm’s finances.

Playtech has not denied this but said there were legitimate reasons to request a report on Evolution, which it said had allowed its casino games to be played in unregulated markets.

It has now been revealed that Playtech offered financial incentives to uncover wrongdoing by Evolution, as well as boosting the amount paid if there was media coverage of the story.

Black Cube signed a pair of letters of engagement with Playtech to firm up their relationship, the first of them being dated December 2020 and the other following on later, in summer 2022.

How Much Did Playtech Pay Out?

Playtech offered £150,000 to Black Cube in the event of the report into Evolution’s business practices uncovering wrongdoing by the casino game provider, which was paid out.

In addition, there was a £175,000 bonus paid for the Black Cube report by Playtech as a result of a major news outlet covering the story. A further £350,000 bonus was paid as a result of a regulator launching its own investigation into Evolution, although Playtech’s offer of a £500,000 bonus if one of Evolution’s licences was revoked was not triggered and therefore was not paid.

New court filings that were submitted on November 3 in New Jersey also show that a PR firm – HeraldPR run by Juda S. Engelmayer – was employed to try to boost levels of media attention.

Playtech has already been confirmed to be paying for all of Black Cube’s legal fees in the case with the total bill over the matter already said to be running to millions of pounds.

All of the new information has been revealed thanks to a deposition of Dr. Avi Yanus, who is the co-founded and only director of the Black Cube company. Calcagni & Kanefsky is acting as the public face of Black Cube for the purposes of the case, which has been launched by Evolution.

Evolution’s litigation case over the Black Cube report is set to continue

Covert Techniques Revealed, But Defended

One of the most controversial aspects of the Black Cube report was the fact that covert techniques had been used when looking into whether Evolution was breaching regulations.

Black Cube agents have been confirmed to have used fake identities when they were interviewing subjects in the process of producing the Evolution report. In addition, conversations with these subjects had been secretly recorded, both without their knowledge or approval.

Dr Yunus told the court that this was the case but defended the use of covert techniques.

He said:

Our methodology is the only way to reveal the truth and to get accurate information.

Agents with a history of working with Mossad and Israel’s counter-intelligence agency were among those used to produce the Black Cube report on Evolution.

Read more: earlier conflict between Evolution and Playtech

What Happens Next?

The case is set to continue, with Evolution intent on pursuing damages over financial losses that it says were caused by the Black Cube report.

But Playtech seems intent on fighting Evolution all the way over the matter, regardless of the amount of money it will have to pay out on legal bills.

Playtech has seen its share price hit by the news it commissioned the Black Cube report.