Evolution to Pay £4.75m to Gambling Commission in Agreed Settlement

Evolution has agreed a £4.75 million settlement with the Gambling Commission, after the live dealer supplier’s game content was found to have been offered in the UK without a license.

The license review was initiated by the British regulator in December 2024, finding Evolution’s content was supplied illegally via two operators across six websites, breaching Evolution’s terms of supply. The operators evaded restrictions that were in place to block the content at the time.

Evolution said its commercial relationships with the two operators in question were terminated immediately upon discovery of the illegal activity. Evolution also mentioned no broader pattern of unlicensed access to Evolution content in the UK was identified during the 18-month review. Evolution had previously expected the review to be concluded by the end of 2025.

Potentially worse outcomes

The eventual outcome of the review is not as damaging to Evolution as it could have been. Evolution had previously mentioned the review could lead to a number of outcomes, which included conditions being imposed on the license, financial sanction, suspension and revocation of the license to operate. However, the agreed settlement may have helped Evolution avoid a worse punishment.

Martin Carlesund, CEO of Evolution, said:

“At Evolution, we always want to do what is right, and it is not acceptable that six unlicensed sites offered Evolution content in the regulated UK market.

"We do not want traffic from unlicensed operators and will always move quickly to address any such situation. We welcome the conclusion of the review and remain focused on continuing to supply our world-leading games to licensed operators in the UK.”

Black market warnings

In April, Carlesund warned about the potential growth of unregulated gambling in markets with higher taxes, in the same month that higher online taxes began to be introduced in the UK.

From the start of April, remote gaming duty (RGD) in the UK, paid on online casino bets, increased from 21% of gross gaming yield (GGY) to 40%. There will also be an increase in general betting duty, paid on online sports bets, in April 2027, from 15% to 25% of GGY, although this does not impact Evolution directly, as it is an online casino supplier.

When speaking on an earnings call following Evolution’s Q1 2026 results, Carlesund was reacting to a 12% year-on-year decrease in European revenue to €176 million (£152.3 million). Carlesund said Europe is the “main headache” and was asked how much of this was caused by unregulated gambling in the continent.

Carlesund said he

“Wouldn’t necessarily draw that conclusion. There are other regulations in Europe that are not regulated or suffering, and there are regulated jurisdictions in Europe that are suffering.”

However, Carlesund touched on difficult tax costs in Europe, stating:

“As soon as you hit the 30% (tax) bracket, it starts to be really difficult. You open up for lower channelisation (rates) and unregulated play when you put taxes on 40% level.”

This refers to the 40% RGD rate that has recently been applied in the UK.

Playtech investigation

Evolution has been no stranger to litigation recently. Last October, fellow supplier Playtech was revealed to be behind a secret investigation into Evolution, which was submitted to New Jersey and Pennsylvania gaming regulators in 2021.

The investigation accused Evolution of regulatory violations, and included allegations of operations in various black and grey markets. New Jersey and Pennsylvania’s gaming regulators closed their investigations in February 2024 without taking corrective action.