Evolution accusers' identity safe until end of March

The ongoing saga that started with a New Jersey superior judge ordering the law firm representing the anonymous accuser of Evolution, a live dealer casino gaming company, to reveal the identity of their clients, has taken a new turn.

Evolution’s accusers' identity not to be revealed before early April

At the end of February, John C. Porto ruled in favor of Evolution and ordered Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP to release the identity of their clients within a seven-day period, meaning that the identity would have been known to Evolution’s lawyers either by Friday, March 7, or Monday, March 10.

However, Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP filed a brief seeking a stay on the order, explaining that revealing their client's name would damage the client's privilege and create a dangerous precedent down the road. Evolution was quick to respond, with an oral argument to ensue.

But rather than ruling immediately, the judge has said that he will hear the case on Friday, March 28, giving Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP more time to prepare and the anonymous accusers time to ready for the potential fallout of their identity being revealed to Evolution.

In 2021, a report was circulated throughout the media, alleging that Evolution’s live casino products could be found on a number of offshore gambling companies, many of which targeted licensed jurisdictions without the necessary licensure.

The report triggered a $3bn stock devaluation in what proved to be one of the most significant blows to a gaming major’s share price. Ever since the report was circulated, Evolution had maintained that it was innocent.

Subsequent investigations by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board cleared Evolution of any wrongdoing, with the report deemed to be based on false claims.

No wrongdoing was found on the part of Evolution

Evolution was previously denied a request to reveal the identity of the accusers or accuser, precisely because it was not clear to the court at the time if the report was indeed based in fact and had merit. With the PGCB and DGE siding with Evolution, this last hurdle now seems to be gone.

However, the accusers will enjoy another month of anonymity before they potentially face identification in early April. Whether their names would be released to the public, though, is not clear as this depends solely on Evolution.

Image credit: Unsplash.com