Evolution has reported declining growth, with the developer acknowledging headwinds from regulatory upheaval and “questionable or even criminal activities from competitors” that stunted 2025 developments.
Updating investors, Martin Carlesund, the company’s CEO, cited several “tough and unexpected” situations the firm was forced to address.
In particular, Evolution is in the midst of a US defamation lawsuit after the company accused Playtech of hiring investigators to make false claims about Evolution’s operational practices.
Meanwhile, regulatory changes in Europe, headlined by tax rises in the UK, alongside Evolution’s efforts to ‘ring-fence’ its content from the black market, have created a challenging financial climate across the region.
“The financial performance was not as strong as we would have wanted when entering the year, but I am happy with the way the company has stood up for what is right and lived up to our ambition to become a little bit better every day. So with that said, overall, we are proud but not happy with 2025,” Carselund told investors.
Overall, Evolution reported flat full-year net revenue of €2.07bn, as profit and EBITDA fell 14.6% and 9.2% to €1.1bn and €1.4bn, respectively.
Ring-fencing
Adjusting to a new ring-fencing strategy has plagued Evolution’s financial performance throughout 2025, after the company announced in February its intentions to significantly increase technical controls and geoblocking across Europe to ensure its content isn’t accessible through unlicensed operators.
It was prompted by a currently ongoing review into Evolution’s UK Gambling Commission licence after concerns were raised that its content could be accessed through unlicensed operators in the country.
Carlesund previously expressed optimism that it would have been completed by the end of last year, however, he confirmed that Evolution has not had any communication with the UKGC since the summer of 2025 and is “patiently waiting” for a response.
Since the change in strategy, the company has recorded negative growth in Europe, impacting financial results throughout the year, and culminating in a decrease in fourth quarter net revenue to €514.2m (Q4 2024: €533.8m) and EBITDA to €393.2m (Q4 2024: €455m)
Alongside ring-fencing, there has been a significant shift in regulation across many European jurisdictions, largely focused on tightening regulations and increasing tax rates, leading to stakeholders warning of a shift in players to the black market in response.
“Development in Europe was not good, burdened by unfavourable regulatory movements,” echoed Carlesund.
“The current challenge is not the actual ring-fencing, but instead the channelisation decline in some major countries as a result of regulatory measures. Simply put, the players are, by the regulation, pushed out of the regulated limit and are, to a larger extent, playing on unregulated operators that we don’t accept.
“This is bad for the industry and pushing out the most vulnerable players, but long-term, we believe that the regulatory scale will find its balance again.”
Shifting stateside
Evolution’s investment roadmap for 2026 will be focused less aggressively on Europe, the company confirmed, with an increased focus instead on both North and South America, as the US and Brazilian markets continue to develop.
Underscoring this commitment, in the final quarter of 2025, Evolution launched Ezugi as its second live dealer brand for the US market in New Jersey, with plans to expand to Michigan in the first half of 2026.
“We continue to grow decently in North America, even if we want it to go faster. It is still early days for the online gaming industry, and we believe the region will see an increasing share of [live casino],” said Carlesund, who also described the region as a more “stable environment” compared to Europe.
“To increase penetration and options, we re-launched our second brand, Ezugi, during the quarter, starting in New Jersey with a clear goal to become the number two live casino provider in the US.”
Evolution records regional net revenue based on customers’ players’ IP addresses, and reported year-on-year growth in North America of 9.2% from €70.6m to €77.1m. Meanwhile, net revenues in Latin America also grew YoY from €38.5m to €43.2m.
Outstanding legal battles
On the to-do list for Evolution as 2026 progresses will be addressing several ongoing lawsuits involving the company.
The most explosive of which is the aforementioned defamation lawsuit against Playtech.
The company has claimed that the Playtech subsidiary Playtech Software Limited (PTS) commissioned the independent business intelligence firm Black Cube to investigate the provider’s activities in prohibited and sanctioned markets, subsequently reporting that Evolution was responsible for supplying games in illicit markets such as Iran, Sudan and China.
Evolution has previously described the claims as “highly inflammatory and knowingly false claims about Evolution and its business practices” for “anti-competitive reasons”.
During the company’s Q4 earnings call, Carselund was tight-lipped about any updates on the litigation, but said that the company is “looking forward to moving forward with the lawsuit”.
When questioned on the reaction of Evolution’s customers to the situation, Carlesund said that many were shocked by the practices of the intelligence firms, and he described the legal battle as “not good for the industry”.
Backing product roadmap
Looking forward to 2026, Evolution has backed its product roadmap to return the company to growth, and it will be leaning heavily on the success of its partnership with Hasbro – the manufacturer of the board game Monopoly.
Under the licensing agreement, Evolution is working to produce live casino and slot games, focusing on Monopoly and other “Hasbro Games”.
So far, the company has revealed MONOPOLY Filthy Rich, which it has described as its “most ambitious live game show to date”, as well as MONOPOLY Roulette and Game Night, which combines a selection of Hasbro’s games.
According to Evolution, €438.6m of its total net revenue of €514.2m during Q4 was derived from live games, compared to just €75.7m from RNG games.
“Looking beyond short-term performance, we see that players shift more and more towards game shows, and with the best road map ever in 2026, aiming at exactly these types of entertaining games, rocket-fueled by Hasbro brands, I really look forward to the development in 2026,” Carlesund reassured investors.
