Evolution has agreed to pay £4.75 million to settle a UK Gambling Commission review after the regulator found that its games could be reached through six unlicensed websites run by two operators. The review lasted nearly 19 months and is now closed, with Evolution saying the matter has been resolved in full.
The review began in December 2024, when the Commission informed Evolution that it had opened a Section 116 review of Evolution Malta Holding Limited’s operating licence under the Gambling Act 2005. That section gives the regulator power to review licence holders’ compliance with the LCCP, and possible outcomes range from no action to conditions, a financial sanction, suspension or revocation.
At the time the review was opened, UK Gambling Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes said the regulator’s approach to illegal gambling focused on “significant upstream disruption”, with targets that included internet service providers, payment processors, search engines and software suppliers. The context matters because the case centred on supplier access, not only on the operators that were displaying the games.
Evolution said it cooperated fully with the Commission and took the immediate actions requested to remedy the situation. The company said games on the identified websites were made unavailable from the UK, and that it immediately terminated its relationship with the two operators.
After the review found unlicensed access, Evolution said it strengthened its controls. It said it was using all technical tools available to ensure its games are available in the UK only through Commission-licensed operators, and that it routinely takes technical, legal and commercial action to identify and prevent unauthorised access.
Martin Carlesund, Evolution’s chief executive, said it was not acceptable that six unlicensed sites offered Evolution content in the regulated UK market. The company also said it does not want traffic from unlicensed operators and remains focused on supplying licensed operators in the UK.
Evolution said about 3% of its revenue comes from the UK market. The Commission’s FOIA response says information on specific operators beyond what is already public is exempt from disclosure under section 31(1)g, and as of 16 July neither the Commission nor Evolution had publicly named the operators or websites involved.
Casino.org reported that the original announcement of the investigation in December 2024 sent Evolution shares down 10%, while analysts worried the review could have knock-on effects in other territories. Evolution said it welcomed the conclusion of the review and remained committed to an open and transparent relationship with regulators.
