{"id":318232,"date":"2024-04-24T14:41:36","date_gmt":"2024-04-24T19:41:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=318232"},"modified":"2024-04-24T15:03:03","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T20:03:03","slug":"evolution-accuser-still-a-mystery-in-black-market-defamation-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/evolution-accuser-still-a-mystery-in-black-market-defamation-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Evolution Accuser Still a Mystery in ‘Black Market’ Defamation Case"},"content":{"rendered":"

Online gaming software giant Evolution AB will have to wait to discover the identity of the author of a report that it claims was defamatory and wiped $3 billion off its market cap.<\/p>\n

\"Evolution
Judge John C Porto, above, has determined that the veracity of the Evolution report \u2013 or lack thereof — must be better established before its author can be revealed. (Image: POAC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Evolution is suing the unknown entity for libel, along with the unknown investigative firm that compiled the report, and Calcagni & Kanefsky (C&K). That\u2019s the New Jersey law firm that forwarded the report<\/a> to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) on behalf of its anonymous client in November 2021.<\/p>\n

The document claimed that Evolution was providing games to operators that did business in unregulated markets, including \u201cbanned terror states like Iran, Syria, and Sudan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evolution denies the accusations, which caused the Swedish company\u2019s shares to plummet 36% when the story broke.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The subsequent DGE investigation found \u201cno evidence\u201d<\/a> that Evolution \u201csanctioned, promoted, permitted, or otherwise materially benefitted from its content offered by operators in any market that the NJ DGE considers a prohibited jurisdiction.\u201d<\/p>\n

A separate probe by gaming regulators in Pennsylvania reached a similar conclusion.<\/p>\n

Mystery Defendant <\/strong><\/h2>\n

A New Jersey Superior Court Judge determined this week that more work needed to be done to establish whether there was any truth in the allegations contained in the report before Evolution could find out exactly who it was suing.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because of the need to balance an attorney\u2019s obligation to avoid revealing a client\u2019s identity against a plaintiff\u2019s right to get the information needed to pursue civil action.<\/p>\n

Although the Plaintiffs believe, based on the recent determinations from the two gaming enforcement officials, that this issue is now ripe, this court finds that limited discovery must continue and be completed,\u201d wrote Judge John C. Porto in documents seen by Next.io.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This discovery includes the forthcoming depositions of C&K\u2019s senior counsel Ralph Marra and senior partner Thomas Calcagni, which the legal firm\u2019s attorneys claim will prove the report to be accurate.<\/p>\n

Bet365 Report Also Exists <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Casino.org<\/em> has information that the report was commissioned by a US-based gambling operator whose motivation was to level the playing field in the US online casino markets. The implication was that Evolution had gained an unfair advantage through engaging in the business practices alleged in the report.<\/p>\n

\n

The anonymous entity also commissioned a separate report that sought to similarly discredit Bet365, which was being prepared for release to the media and which Casino.org<\/em> has viewed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The operator appeared to abandon this course of action when the Evolution case blew up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Online gaming software giant Evolution AB will have to wait to discover the identity of the author of a report that it claims was defamatory and wiped $3 billion off its market cap. Evolution is suing the unknown entity for libel, along with the unknown investigative firm that compiled the report, and Calcagni & Kanefsky […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":318233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33810,19,60,84511],"tags":[82599,90664,90663,90665],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEvolution Accuser Still a Mystery in 'Black Market' Defamation Case<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Evolution AB wants to know the author of an anonymous report that accused it of engaging with the black market.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/evolution-accuser-still-a-mystery-in-black-market-defamation-case\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Evolution Accuser Still a Mystery in 'Black Market' Defamation Case\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Evolution AB wants to know the author of an anonymous report that accused it of engaging with the black market.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/evolution-accuser-still-a-mystery-in-black-market-defamation-case\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-24T19:41:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-24T20:03:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Porto.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"690\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/evolution-accuser-still-a-mystery-in-black-market-defamation-case\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/evolution-accuser-still-a-mystery-in-black-market-defamation-case\/\",\"name\":\"Evolution Accuser Still a Mystery in 'Black Market' Defamation Case\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/evolution-accuser-still-a-mystery-in-black-market-defamation-case\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/evolution-accuser-still-a-mystery-in-black-market-defamation-case\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Porto.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-24T19:41:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-24T20:03:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Evolution AB wants to know the author of an anonymous report that accused it of engaging with the black market.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/evolution-accuser-still-a-mystery-in-black-market-defamation-case\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/evolution-accuser-still-a-mystery-in-black-market-defamation-case\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/evolution-accuser-still-a-mystery-in-black-market-defamation-case\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Porto.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Porto.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":690,\"caption\":\"Judge John C Porto, above, has determined that the veracity of the Evolution report \u2013 or lack of -- must be better established before its author can be revealed in order to protect the attorney-client relationship. 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