The UK Gambling Commission has said it considered suspending Evolution’s licence after discovering the company’s live casino games were being offered on unlicensed websites accessible to UK consumers.
This was an update on Evolution’s £4.75m settlement reached last week. The commission said its investigation discovered the supplier had failed to maintain adequate anti-money laundering (AML) and customer due diligence controls in the UK.
“This investigation exposed serious weaknesses in Evolution’s AML risk assessment and its oversight of risks within its supply chain,” John Pierce, the commission’s director of enforcement, said of the case.
“Their AML assessment was outdated and failed to adequately consider the risk posed by unlicensed operators distributing their games, creating a significant gap between documented controls and their real-world effectiveness.”
The finer details
The investigation was opened in December 2024. This was after the regulator found Evolution’s games were being provided to unlicensed operators in the UK.
Evolution last week reported the commission discovered its titles being used across six unlicensed sites run by two third-party operators. This was between December 2023 and November 2024.
The commission said on Thursday that it had first noticed Evolution games operating without proper authorisation in August 2024. It formally informed the company in December 2024.
Evolution acknowledged that the games were legitimate and promptly blocked access for UK customers on the affected sites.
However, the regulator’s investigation also uncovered multiple breaches of licence conditions. This included failures relating to AML and compliance with the 2017 Money Laundering Regulations.
Specifically, Evolution was found to have shortcomings under Licence Conditions 12.1.1(1-3) and 12.1.2. The company’s risk assessments between April 2024 and January 2025 were deemed inappropriate, particularly regarding third-party risk evaluation.
These deficiencies contributed to Evolution not identifying that two operators were supplying games into the UK market without holding the necessary Gambling Commission licences.
‘Serious enough to consider licence suspension’
The commission described Evolution as being deficient in due diligence measures and ongoing monitoring.
Notably, Pierce emphasised that “the commission’s investigation and testing uncovered failings that were serious enough for us to consider licence suspension”.
However, due to Evolution’s ‘swift’ response this was not enforced.
In response to the investigation the supplier carried out extensive ring-fencing efforts across its European operations in 2025. This was to ensure its games could no longer be provided via unlicences operators. The measure proved particularly costly for the supplier and impacted its profitability throughout 2025.
Regulatory response and settlement
Ultimately Evolution agreed to a settlement with the Gambling Commission. This included the financial payment and having its UK licence independently audited within the next year.
It will also contribute towards the commission’s investigation costs.
In Evolution’s Q2 earnings call last week CEO Martin Carlesund stressed that, despite the regulatory settlement, the agreement wouldn’t affect the company’s UK operations going forward.
“I mean, we settled with them [UKGC],” Carlesund declared. “There are no changes in our way of doing things in the UK for a while, and we have no changes coming up.”
Kathryn Evans
Kathryn covers bitesize breaking news with a primary focus on EMEA and US legislation. A proud North Walian, fluent Welsh speaker and lifelong Wrexham FC fan – long before Hollywood came calling.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/finance/gambling-commission-considered-suspending-evolution-licence-following-aml-failings/
