Evolution Gaming Group was ordered to pay £4.75 million ($6.4 million) this week following a Gambling Commission investigation that began in December 2024. The inquiry revealed that the supplier’s content was accessible through two operators on six unlicensed websites.
During a post-Q2 earnings call on Friday, CEO Martin Carlesund commented on the regulatory settlement, stating that the agreement would not disrupt Evolution's operations in the UK.
"We settled with them [UKGC]," Carlesund affirmed. "There are no changes in our way of doing things in the UK for a while, and we have no changes coming up."
Carlesund also addressed the issue of increased gambling taxes across Europe, particularly highlighting the UK's Remote Gaming Duty, which nearly doubled on April 1 from 21% to 40%. He expressed concern about how high taxes impact channelisation. "As soon as you raise the tax to a certain limit, you will lose channelisation," he noted.
He referenced the declines in channelisation seen in regions like the UK and the Netherlands, stating, "You have seen that in many [regions] where the channelisation reached 50%. And that is not good." Carlesund underscored the need for a more balanced regulatory approach, reiterating that while they respect existing rules, increased taxes pose challenges.
Despite these regulatory concerns, Evolution reported a slight rebound in European revenue, marking a 3.5% increase from Q1 in this sector, although Carlesund described Europe as their "main headache right now" due to multiple previous quarters of revenue losses. On the other hand, Latin America showed impressive growth with a 26.3% increase year-on-year and North America saw a 9.5% rise compared to last year. Conversely, Asia faced difficulties, where a rise in cybercrime contributed to a quarter-on-quarter revenue decline of 3.7%.
Overall, Evolution’s net revenue decreased by 1.2% to €517.8 million in Q2, and EBITDA fell from €345.3 million to €341 million compared to the same period in 2025. For the first half of the year, net revenue dropped by 1.4% to €1.038 billion, while EBITDA decreased from €687.2 million to €676.3 million.
Despite these figures, Carlesund expressed satisfaction with their progress in Q2. "Revenue and margin are moving in the right direction compared to the first quarter, cost control remains strong, cash flow is improving and we continue to expand in key markets while executing on our product roadmap," he stated.
He characterized Evolution’s path forward as rarely straightforward, acknowledging the challenges but also the enjoyable aspects of navigating them.
In an update on their planned acquisition of Galaxy Gaming, announced in July 2024, Carlesund remarked that with the closing window expiring soon, either party could terminate the deal, which was valued at about $85 million and had faced various regulatory hurdles in the U.S. He emphasized that the acquisition was not vital to Evolution’s operations, explaining, "Galaxy is a great company; however, due to its size, the transaction is not significant for Evolution. The outcome has no material impact on our existing business, our U.S. operations, or our long-term ambitions."
According to Evolution’s Q2 presentation, 16% of its net revenue stemmed from North American customer IP addresses, with Asia contributing 37% and Europe 33%.
