Leading provider of fully-integrated Business-to-Business solutions for online casinos, Evolution, has published its second-quarter results, showing resilience amid a series of regulatory and cybersecurity challenges.
CEO Carlesund, “Not Satisfied”
Chief executive officer Martin Carlesund used a cautiously optimistic tone while acknowledging the headwinds and pointing to progress in key areas. The CEO also addressed the need to pick up the pace.
“To be clear, though, we are not satisfied with this quarter’s growth, and we are working hard to increase the pace,” Carlesund said. “However, operationally speaking, we are where we set out to be at the beginning of the year.”
For Q2, EBITDA came in flat at €345.3 million ($401.8 million), translating to a margin of 65.9%, slightly below 68.0% in the same quarter last year. Net profit declined 7.7% to €248.3 million ($289 million), with earnings per share slipping to €1.22 ($1.42) from €1.28 ($1.49).
On the revenue side, live casino continued to grow steadily, up 3.6% year-on-year and 1.6% compared to Q1. RNG revenue ticked up just 0.3%, held back by one of the largest RNG payouts in the company’s history.
For the first half of 2025, Evolution posted €1.05 billion ($1.22 billion) in revenue, up 3.5% year-on-year, while EBITDA fell slightly to €687.2 million ($799.8 million). Net profit for H1 reached the €503 million ($585 million) mark, signaling a 6.6% drop.
Weaker Europe, Stronger North America
Regional trends were mixed, with Asia’s Q2 revenue rising 4.2% year-on-year to €209.1 million ($243.3 million) following a series of flat quarters influenced by cyberattacks.
“We are starting to reap some benefits,” Carlesund said. “The revenue for the region is back to growth and we remain very cautiously optimistic for the remainder of 2025.”
He added that their efforts to fight against the stream hijacking phenomenon were ongoing, while saying the company was “at the absolute technological forefront” of IP protection.
Europe was weaker, with revenue dropping 5.8% to €180.2 million, reflecting the impact of new ring-fencing rules. Still, Carlesund defended the regulatory changes. “Although the ring-fencing measures may have had a larger financial impact than anticipated… we maintain that regulation is positive over time,” he said.
North America delivered strong growth, with revenue going up close to 23% to €74 million ($86 million), thanks to a planned new studio in Michigan and a partnership with Bally’s in Rhode Island.
In Latin America, revenue rose 2.7% to €37.6 million ($43.7 million), supported by a new São Paulo studio.
Looking ahead, Carlesund reiterated full-year EBITDA margin guidance of 66–68% and praised the team’s progress.
“2025 will be a great year for Evolution, even if not financially our best, but a year where we lay the foundation necessary to keep our growth trajectory going forward,” he told investors.
Shares rose 7.5% in early trading following the report. The company plans 110 fresh releases in the upcoming months, including three new live casino games scheduled for the third quarter.