A judge from the New Jersey Superior Court has mandated that the writers of a infamous anonymous report, which caused a $3 billion loss in the market capitalization of gaming software company Evolution AB, must be identified. 

Evolution is taking legal action against the unidentified writers for defamation. This is due to the report claiming that the company supplied games to operators who operated in unregulated markets, including “prohibited terror states such as Iran, Syria, and Sudan.” 

A later inquiry by the New Jersey gaming authority (DGE) revealed "no evidence" backing the claims. A distinct investigation by Pennsylvania officials arrived at the same finding. The assertion led to a sharp decline in the company's stock in November 2021. 

Evolution is additionally suing Calcagni & Kanefsky (C&K), the New Jersey legal firm that submitted the report to the DGE for its unnamed client. 

 

‘Lacks Truthfulness’ 

So far, the unidentified entity has remained shielded by attorney-client privilege as the court attempted to reconcile Calcagni & Kanefsky’s duty to its client with the plaintiff’s entitlement to obtain the information necessary for pursuing civil action. 

In April 2024, Judge John C. Porto ruled that additional efforts were necessary to ascertain the validity of the claims in the report before Evolution could identify exactly whom it was suing. 

On Friday, Porto stated he was pleased that the report “lacks truthfulness,” noting that Evolution was “entitled to all pertinent discovery required.” 

“The identity of the client is clearly necessary to enable the plaintiff to fully address its legal claims,” the judge concluded, in an order seen by Next.io.

This data needs to be submitted to the court by March 7 and should contain the investigative company that prepared the report and the organization that ordered it. 

Le dossier Bet365 existe également. 

In November 2021, the same New York PR agency reached out to two reporters from Casino.org individually. Along with the Evolution document, the company held a report aiming to similarly undermine Bet365 and its purported activities in China, which Casino.org has examined. 

During a phone conversation, the company's owner informed a journalist that the documents were commissioned by a gambling firm based in the US, aiming to "level the playing field" in US online casino markets. He later refuted this to the second reporter a few weeks afterwards. 

The attempt to undermine Bet365 seemed to have been given up when the Evolution case escalated.