Evolution has agreed to pay £4.75 million to settle a UK Gambling Commission review after the regulator found that its games were available through two operators on six websites serving consumers without a UK licence.
The review began on 20 December 2024, when Evolution said it had been informed that the Commission was opening a Section 116 review of Evolution Malta Holding Limited’s operating licence under the Gambling Act 2005. Evolution said the review stemmed from the Commission’s finding that its games were accessible from the UK through operators that did not hold a Commission licence, and that the possible outcomes ranged from no action to licence conditions, a financial sanction, suspension or revocation.
Martin Carlesund, Evolution’s chief executive, said it was “not acceptable” that six unlicensed sites had offered Evolution content in the regulated UK market. He said the company did not want traffic from unlicensed operators and would move quickly to address such situations.
Evolution said the commercial relationships with the two operators were terminated immediately once the issue was discovered. It also said the games on the identified websites were made unavailable from the UK, and that it had introduced enhanced ring-fencing measures alongside technical and procedural refinements.
The company said it routinely uses technical, legal and commercial measures to identify, address and prevent unauthorised access to its content, while acknowledging that no system can entirely eliminate attempts by third parties to circumvent controls. It said it fully cooperated with the Commission and remained committed to working constructively with regulators.
The UK market accounts for about 3% of Evolution’s revenue. Marketscreener also reported that the settlement closed the licence review and that Evolution strengthened its technical and ring-fencing measures.
A UKGC spokesperson said the regulator had nothing to add for now and would publish details of the settlement in due course.
