Evolution has been instructed to pay £4.75 million ($6.4 million) by the Gambling Commission following an investigation that began in December 2024. The regulator discovered that content from the gaming giant was available through two operators on six unlicensed websites.
In a conference call after the release of Evolution's Q2 earnings, CEO Martin Carlesund stated that this settlement would not impact the company's operations in the UK. "I mean, 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."
During the call, Carlesund also expressed concerns regarding rising gambling taxes in Europe, pointing out that the UK's Remote Gaming Duty nearly doubled from 21% to 40% on April 1. He commented on the effects of high taxation on channelisation in various regions, citing examples like the UK and the Netherlands, where channelisation dropped to 50%.
"So, we need to hope for a better balance in what regulators do. But it’s not for us to decide, and we just act on the rules that are there, and we’re very respectful to those rules," he stated.
Following several quarters of declines, Europe was identified as a significant challenge for Evolution, described by Carlesund as the company’s "main headache right now." However, Q2 showed a 3.5% increase in revenue compared to Q1, indicating a return to growth. In contrast, Latin America stood out with a robust 26.3% year-on-year growth, and North America reported a 9.5% revenue increase from the previous year. Despite these regional successes, Asia faced challenges due to increased cybercrime, resulting in a 3.7% revenue decline quarter-on-quarter.
Overall, Evolution's net revenue dipped by 1.2% to €517.8 million during the second quarter of 2025. EBITDA fell from €345.3 million to €341 million. Over the first half of the year, net revenue dropped 1.4% to €1.038 billion, with EBITDA dropping from €687.2 million to €676.3 million. Carlesund expressed his satisfaction with Q2 performance, stating, "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."
The ongoing acquisition of Galaxy Gaming, announced in July 2024, is now uncertain as the deadline for the deal, valued at approximately $85 million, lapses on Friday. Carlesund indicated that the deal is not critical to Evolution, emphasizing that the company has invested considerable time and resources into navigating the regulatory challenges. "Galaxy is a great company; however, due to its size, the transaction is not significant for Evolution," he noted, asserting that the outcome would not materially affect their existing or future business.
In the recent earnings report, it was revealed that 16% of Evolution's net revenue came from players in North America, trailing behind Asia at 37% and Europe at 33%.
