Playtech is poised to be drawn into one of iGaming’s most closely watched legal battles, with its potential addition as a defendant hinging on the outcome of an imminent court hearing.
The supplier could be named in Evolution’s New Jersey defamation case if the lawsuit clears its forthcoming UPEPA challenge, a procedural stage that has kept Playtech on the sidelines until now.
Judge John C. Porto had previously declined to add Playtech as a defendant, ruling that the question should be revisited only once the UPEPA portion of proceedings had concluded.
That hearing is scheduled for 16 November, though any formal ruling from the bench is expected to arrive several weeks after the session itself takes place.
The bar for Black Cube to succeed at this stage is considered exceptionally high, making an Evolution victory the most probable result when the judge eventually delivers his decision.
Peel Hunt analysts Ivor Jones and Douglas Jack offered an important clarification about the scope of the proceedings, writing: “The judge will not be assessing the merits of Evolution’s defamation case in the UPEPA hearing.”
That distinction matters considerably, because it means the hearing is not a verdict on whether Evolution was defamed, but rather a procedural gateway with its own distinct legal standards.
Regardless of how Judge Porto rules, sources familiar with the matter indicate both sides are prepared to escalate, with an appeal to the New Jersey Supreme Court widely expected given the novel questions surrounding the relatively new law.
UPEPA has only been on the books for three years, and the legal complexity of its application in this context makes a higher-court review almost inevitable, regardless of which party prevails at the November hearing.
Evolution’s legal position heading into this stage appears solid, having already survived a motion to dismiss and secured favourable rulings from state supreme courts during the course of the dispute.
Observers tracking the case closely are therefore not anticipating a full dismissal, viewing the UPEPA challenge as a hurdle the lawsuit is likely to clear rather than a genuine threat to its continuation.
The November hearing represents the most consequential development in the case since Playtech obtained and published the internal Spectrum Gaming review, which examined the allegations contained in a report that Evolution had commissioned.
Should the case advance past this stage, the legal landscape shifts significantly, with Playtech’s formal inclusion as a defendant potentially reshaping the dynamics of the entire proceeding going forward.
