Evolution CEO claims supplier has “same goal” as GC amid licence review 

Evolution CEO Martin Carlesund has claimed that the Gambling Commission’s (GC) review of the supplier is “going well”, as he insisted the Stockholm-listed supplier shares the same goal as the regulator. 

Just before Christmas, the GC announced that it was conducting a review of Evolution’s licence to operate in the UK, after the company’s games were discovered to be accessible on black market sites. 

The Swedish live casino and RNG supply giant announced in a statement, issued on 20 December, that a review of its licence had commenced, which triggered an 11% fall in Evolution’s share price in the immediate aftermath. 

The review of Evolution Malta Holdings Limited’s licence held with the GC, by which Evolution can service the UK, was sanctioned under section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005. The company has held an online casino supplier licence with the GC since October 2015.

Though the review could result in Evolution’s licence being revoked or suspended, Carlesund has attempted to calm fear among investors, noting that the supplier is following all of the regulator’s orders, as per the review.

Furthermore, the UK accounts for about 3% of group revenue.

Speaking on Evolution’s Q4 2024 earnings call today, 30 January, the CEO was pressed for comment on when an update regarding the investigation can be expected, and whether other regulatory bodies across Europe could take similar action.

Yet Carlesund stopped short of providing a timeline. “We are working with the UK Gambling Commission to resolve this review, and we are following through with them and doing whatever they request,” he said.

“From my point of view, humbly so, I think it’s going well. We’re working with all [the] regulators in Europe constantly. Historically, there hasn’t been a blocking of the internet from a regulator.

“Now, regulators are pushing a little bit to block the internet, and we are following through with that. We want to do that. That is a change of landscape and that’s good. The end goal needs to be high channelisation.”

He also stressed how the supplier is after the same targets as the GC, adding: “I want to emphasise, we have the same goal as the regulator. We want 100% channelisation. The UK, we all know, it’s not the biggest of our markets; it’s relatively small, but we don’t want it to be unchannelised, so we have the same goal.” 

Evolution has previously stated that the content found on black market sites that sparked the review has since been removed. 

The supplier has also enacted a “ringfencing process” outside the UK during the past quarter as it aims to only provide gaming content to locally licensed operators. Although bosses said the process had begun in Europe, Carlesund would not be drawn on which specific markets.

“We won’t go down into country by country,” Carlesund said. “We are talking to each of the regulators, and it’s a little bit different in different [markets]. In general, it’s restricting internet via IP blocks.”

In terms of fiscal impact from the ringfencing , Carlesund said he expects the impact to be “limited” for the group.

As per the supplier’s Q4 report, 41% of revenue came from regulated markets, while its largest five customers accounted for 46% of revenue.

Carlesund’s comments shortly after Evolution’s Q4 results revealed a 31.5% year-on-year (YoY) increase in revenue to €625.3m. 

The firm’s EBITDA reported a similar trajectory, climbing 35% YoY to €455m between October and December 2024, alongside a corresponding margin of 72.8%. 

By vertical, live casino contributed the lion’s share of Evolution’s topline figure, amassing €459.4m, up from the €405.6m posted in Q4 2023. 

The RNG segment generated €74.4m, the highest the vertical has reached across the last five quarters.   

At the time of writing, Evolution’s shares are down almost 6% on the day.