Black Cube has returned to court in its dispute with Evolution, saying the online gaming supplier’s recent settlement with the UK Gambling Commission and the collapse of a planned Galaxy Gaming acquisition both support its misconduct claims and justify discovery into Evolution’s dealings with regulators.
In a filing reported by iGamingToday, Black Cube argued that “extraordinary events” over the past two weeks had confirmed its suspicion that Evolution had not been forthright on matters central to pending UPEPA motions. The firm said the UKGC settlement was evidence that its earlier accusations were not a sham.
The dispute began in 2021, after an anonymous report alleged that Evolution had breached regulations by operating in prohibited markets. Evolution rejected the claims, later identifying Black Cube as the author of the report. The report had been commissioned by Playtech, according to the earlier coverage.
Evolution’s own settlement announcement said it had agreed to pay £4.75 million to the UKGC, closing a licence review that began in December 2024. The regulator’s case focused on Evolution game content appearing on six websites run by two operators that were offering products to British consumers without a UK licence.
The company said the review, which lasted 18 months, did not uncover a wider pattern of unlicensed access to its content in Britain. It also said the commercial relationships with the two operators were terminated immediately after the issue was found, and that it had cooperated fully with the regulator.
Martin Carlesund, Evolution’s chief executive, said it was not acceptable that six unlicensed sites had offered the company’s content in the regulated UK market. He said Evolution did not want traffic from unlicensed operators and would move quickly to address such situations.
Black Cube used the settlement to argue the opposite of Evolution’s framing. It said the UKGC review had been launched because Evolution’s gaming products had appeared on the six websites, and that the alleged breaches were serious enough for the commission to consider revoking the company’s licence.
The filing also pointed to the Galaxy Gaming transaction. In November 2025, Evolution and Galaxy Gaming extended the deal’s outside date to 17 July 2026, while saying regulatory approval was still expected in the first quarter of 2026. Mississippi approval had already been secured, leaving two pre-close jurisdictions outstanding.
Black Cube said the deal ultimately ran out of time while approvals were still pending, including from the Nevada Gaming Control Board. It asked the court for discovery on Evolution’s prior dealings with gaming regulators. An earlier request for related discovery had already been denied.
Evolution pushed back, saying neither the UKGC settlement nor the Galaxy Gaming episode proved Black Cube’s case. It said the commission had not found a broad pattern of Evolution content appearing on unlicensed sites, and it said there was not enough information to show the Galaxy deal fell apart because of regulatory problems rather than because it no longer fit Evolution’s strategy.
