This week, Evolution was directed to pay £4.75 million ($6.4 million) following a Gambling Commission investigation that dates back to December 2024. The regulator identified that Evolution’s content was accessible via two operators operating on six unlicensed websites.
During a call discussing the release of the company’s Q2 earnings on Friday, CEO Martin Carlesund commented on the regulatory settlement, stating that it would not change Evolution’s operations in the UK moving forward. "I mean, we settled with them [UKGC]," Carlesund said. "There are no changes in our way of doing things in the UK for a while, and we have no changes coming up."
Carlesund took the opportunity to express concerns over increasing gambling taxes in Europe, especially with the UK’s Remote Gaming Duty almost doubling from 21% to 40% on April 1 this year. He stated, "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 referenced situations in various regions, including the UK and the Netherlands, noting, "You have seen that in many regions such as the UK and the Netherlands, [where] the channelisation reached 50%. And that is not good."
Carlesund emphasized that regulators need to strike a better balance while acknowledging that Evolution must comply with existing rules. He remarked, "we’re very respectful to those rules, and we understand why they do them, and of course, raising the taxes is negative for the channelisation."
Despite a resurgence in Europe, Carlesund noted that the region is still a significant challenge for Evolution. In Q2, European revenues increased by 3.5% from Q1, marking a break from several quarters of decline.
Latin America emerged as a strong performer for Evolution with a year-on-year growth of 26.3%, while North American revenue also saw an increase of 9.5% compared to the same period last year. However, challenges in Asia, particularly from rising cybercrime, led to a 3.7% decline in quarterly revenue from that region.
Overall, Evolution reported a net revenue drop of 1.2%, totaling €517.8 million, while 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 down from €687.2 million to €676.3 million.
Despite these declines, Carlesund expressed satisfaction with Q2 results, 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." He summarized, "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 another note, Evolution's previously announced acquisition of Galaxy Gaming, a specialist in table games and casino technology, is facing uncertainty as the closing period for the deal, valued at around $85 million, ends on Friday. Carlesund remarked that the deal’s conclusion was not crucial for Evolution, stating, "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."
Evolution's Q2 report indicated that 16% of its net revenue was derived from players' IP addresses in North America, behind Asia at 37% and Europe at 33%.
