Evolution enters into agreement to buy Livespins for €5m

Evolution has entered into an agreement to acquire social live streaming platform Livespins for a total cash consideration of €5m (£4.3m).

As well as the total cash consideration, Evolution will pay an earn-out based on Livespins’ performance until 2026, with the live casino giant adding a new vertical to its already large arsenal.

The live casino giant expects to complete the deal, which is subject to certain closing conditions, by Q2 2024.

According to Evolution, this acquisition fits into the supplier’s “product leap” strategy. This strategy was announced recently as the firm has designated 2024 and 2025 as its “product leap years”.

Livespins allows operators to let players to “bet behind” their favourite streamers and join in with the play instead of passively watching the stream.

As part of this deal, Livespins’ streamers will now be able to play games within the Evolution portfolio, as well as titles from more than 40 studios already integrated.

Livespins will continue as a brand within the Evolution Group and sit alongside the likes of Red Tiger, Ezugi, Big Time Gaming, No Limit City and DigiWheel.

The Livespins deal is the first M&A Evolution has done since it bought No Limit City for €340m in June 2022.

Evolution has seen live casino continue to dominate the group’s revenue performance as its RNG arm has failed to match the pace of the former.

As part of the group’s Q4 financial report, live casino revenue jumped to €405.6m while RNG revenue slipped from €72.5m to €69.8m.

The supplier said the addition of Livespins would deliver a new “social category of live entertainment with a novel way of playing” for its customers.

Martin Carlesund, Evolution CEO, said, “Livespins is a unique proposition that has shown solid engagement metrics and adoption by players, and one we believe will be a great addition to the Evolution portfolio.

“Over the years, we have garnered a reputation for identifying new and interesting technology which is why I’m thrilled that we have reached an agreement with Livespins.”

Todd Haushalter, chief product officer at Evolution, added: “Playing along with a streamer is a whole new way to play online casino games. This was on our roadmap, so when the opportunity with Livespins arose, things moved quickly.

“Bringing together the fantastic tech, processes and know-how of the team at Livespins with Evolution’s huge game portfolio, we will provide Livespins immediately with unparalleled distribution power via our One Stop Shop (OSS) integration.

“Twitch, YouTube and other platforms have proven the popularity of live streaming while playing online casino games. We think players would love to play along with them and now that will be possible now, right from the Evolution lobby.”

Chris Scicluna, CEO of Livespins, commented: “This is an unprecedented milestone for Livespins, and we couldn’t be happier to be joining the Evolution Group.

“We are still in the startup phase of our business and to attract the attention of Evolution, is incredibly rewarding. It also is a reflection of all the hard work that our team has poured into this concept since we launched and the unwavering belief that this product would revolutionise the industry.”