Evolution Gaming, following a Gambling Commission investigation that began in December 2024, has been ordered to pay £4.75 million ($6.4 million). The regulator found that content from the company was available on six unlicensed websites operated by two companies.
CEO Martin Carlesund, during a call discussing the company's Q2 earnings, noted that this regulatory settlement will not impact Evolution’s operations in the UK moving forward. "I mean, we settled with them [UKGC]," he 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 topic of rising gambling taxes across Europe, particularly the UK’s Remote Gaming Duty, which increased from 21% to 40% on April 1 of this year. He pointed out that elevated taxes can lead to lower channelisation in gambling markets. "When it comes to the balance of the regulatory situation in any jurisdiction, not in particular to the UK, but as soon as you raise the tax to a certain limit, you will lose channelisation," he stated. He mentioned that this trend has been observable in regions like the UK and the Netherlands, where channelisation dropped to 50%.
He expressed hope for better regulatory balance, acknowledging their respect for existing rules while highlighting the negative impact of tax increases on market channelisation.
Despite the challenges, Europe has been characterized by a resurgence for Evolution, as Carlesund termed the region a "main headache right now" due to several quarters of revenue decline. In Q2, however, European revenues rose by 3.5% from the first quarter. In contrast, Latin America demonstrated significant growth of 26.3% year-on-year, and North American revenue increased by 9.5% from the previous year.
Asia, however, faced difficulties from heightened cybercrime activity, leading to a 3.7% decline in quarter-on-quarter revenue. Overall, Evolution’s net revenue fell 1.2% to €517.8 million in this period, and EBITDA decreased to €341 million from €345.3 million in Q2 2025. For the first half of the year, net revenue declined 1.4% to €1.038 billion, with EBITDA dropping from €687.2 million to €676.3 million.
Despite these setbacks, Carlesund expressed satisfaction with Q2's performance. "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 said. "The road is almost never straight, but what matters is that we are moving forward. Some curves are harder than others, but they can also be fun. And the same goes for Evolution."
In a related note, Evolution’s planned acquisition of Galaxy Gaming, announced in July 2024, remains uncertain as the deal’s closing period ends Friday. The acquisition, valued at approximately $85 million, has encountered various regulatory hurdles in the US. Carlesund indicated that the transaction is not critical for Evolution's business, noting, "Two years have passed, and Evolution has spent significant time, effort and resources handling the rather large amount of administration required to close this acquisition. 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 US operations, or our long-term ambitions."
According to Evolution's Q2 presentation, 16% of its net revenue was derived from customer players’ IP addresses in North America, trailing behind Asia at 37% and Europe at 33%.
