Key facts
- Owner: Evolution AB (publ), Stockholm, founded 2006, on the main market of Nasdaq Stockholm since 7 June 2017 (annual report 2025).
- Licences checked in registers on 11 October 2026: Malta (MGA/CRP/187/2010), Great Britain (account 41655, Active), Isle of Man (Active). None of its listed licences is Australian.
- UK, 23 July 2026: a £4,750,000 payment in lieu of a financial penalty after its games were found on unlicensed websites.
- Evolution’s games website redirected our Australian connection to a “blocked jurisdiction” page in 3 of 3 checks on 11 October 2026.
Who Evolution is
Evolution is a Swedish public company, not a casino. Its legal name is Evolution AB (publ), registration number 556994-5792, with headquarters at Hamngatan 11 in Stockholm, according to its annual report for 2025, published 1 April 2026. The report says Evolution was founded in 2006 and “set the standard for online live casino”.
Its shares moved to the main market of Nasdaq Stockholm on 7 June 2017, after trading on Nasdaq First North Premier from 20 March 2015. A listed company publishes audited accounts, so most facts on this page come from filings, not marketing.
Evolution sells to casinos, not to players. Its interim report for April–June 2026, published 17 July 2026, counts “870+ operators among its customers” and around 22,900 staff. The annual report lists 24 studios in Europe, Asia, North and South America; most of the work is done in Riga, Tbilisi and Fort Mrieħel in Malta.
The brands it owns
Evolution owns several game studios. The 2025 annual report names NetEnt, Red Tiger, Big Time Gaming, Nolimit City and Ezugi, plus Sneaky Slots and Tap-A-Roo.
| Brand | What it makes | Owned by Evolution since | More |
|---|---|---|---|
| NetEnt | Video slots, started 1996 | 1 December 2020 | NetEnt and Australia |
| Red Tiger | — | 2020 (Evolution timeline) | — |
| Big Time Gaming | Slots; the Megaways mechanic | 30 June 2021 | Big Time Gaming |
| Nolimit City | Slots; the xWays and xNudge features | 8 August 2022 | Nolimit City |
| Ezugi | — | Not stated in the sources we read | — |
Dates are the completion dates in Evolution’s releases: the year-end report 2020 for NetEnt, the releases of 30 June 2021 and 8 August 2022 for Big Time Gaming and Nolimit City. Evolution agreed to pay up to EUR 450 million for Big Time Gaming (release of 12 April 2021).
Two of its companies are Australian. The subsidiaries table in the 2025 annual report lists Bigtime Gaming Pty Ltd and Darwin’s Theory Pty Ltd, each 100% owned.
Where Evolution is licensed
Evolution holds licences in Malta, Great Britain and the Isle of Man, and all three appear in the regulators’ own registers. We checked each one on 11 October 2026.
| Regulator | Licence holder | Number | Register, 11 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malta Gaming Authority | Evolution Gaming Malta Limited (C44213) | MGA/CRP/187/2010, Type 1 | Listed in the MGA register (the list shows no status column) |
| UK Gambling Commission | Evolution Malta Holding Limited | Account 41655 | Active: Gambling Software, Game Host (Casino) (public register) |
| Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission | Evolution NetEnt International Limited | Software Supply | Active, valid from 16 September 2024 (licensee register) |
| Curaçao | Evolution (via Antillephone NV) | Not given | Stated on Evolution’s licences page; not checked in a register |
The group’s full list in the 2025 annual report names 23 jurisdictions, from Argentina and Malta to the United Kingdom and seven US states. Australia is not on it.
Licensed is not the same as sold only where licensed. Evolution reports that 49% of its revenue in April–June 2026 came from what it calls regulated markets, up from 44% a year earlier (interim report, 17 July 2026). The report gives no list of the other markets, so we do not name any.
What happened in the UK in 2026
On 23 July 2026 the UK Gambling Commission closed a case against Evolution with a payment of £4,750,000. The Commission records it as a “payment in lieu of a financial penalty”, together with its costs and a public statement.
The reason was where the games appeared, not how they pay. In the Commission’s words, “5 of Evolution’s genuine games had been found on 6 websites, operated by 2 operators … who were unlicensed by the Gambling Commission, yet accessible at scale to consumers in Great Britain”.
Evolution’s 2025 annual report, published before the decision, says that “the proactive ring-fencing measures taken in Europe have also had a material impact” on results. Ring-fencing here means blocking its games from reaching players in markets where they should not be offered.
Is Evolution rigged? What can be checked
What can be checked is what Evolution publishes and what independent labs test. On 11 October 2026 we found one published return among the four game pages we checked, and we have not seen a lab certificate for an Evolution game. We therefore make no fairness claim either way.
Return to player (RTP) is the share of all stakes a game is designed to pay back over a very long run. Evolution’s page for Crazy Time, a game show released in July 2020, says: “The RTP of Crazy Time is 96.08%.” That means A$96.08 back for every A$100 staked over a very large number of rounds, not in one session.
The pages for Lightning Roulette, MONOPOLY Live and Dream Catcher state no RTP. Lightning Roulette’s page explains only that one to five “Lucky Numbers” per round get payouts of 50x to 500x.
Labs check two things. eCOGRA, a UK testing lab founded in 2003, says it reviews the source code of a game’s random number generator (RNG) and runs statistical analysis on its output. It defines RTP as “the expected return on bets wagered in a specific online gambling game over an extended period”. Other labs, iTech Labs and GLI, describe similar tests. A lab’s description is not a certificate for any Evolution game.
Evolution and Australia
Evolution’s games website did not open from Australia in our checks. On 11 October 2026 we opened games.evolution.com three times through an Australian connection; each time it redirected to a page reading “Sorry, this website cannot be accessed from your region”. From a European server the same address opened normally in 3 of 3 checks.
The company’s main site, evolution.com, opened from Australia in all three checks. A blocked games website does not tell you what Evolution agrees with casinos; those contracts are not public.
Some money is invoiced in Australia. A note to the 2025 annual report shows EUR 32.8 million of revenue from external customers invoiced by the group’s Australian entities in 2025, against EUR 38.3 million in 2024. That table shows where the group invoices; it does not show where players are.
Where we looked for Evolution
From an Australian connection, none of the casino lobbies we rechecked listed Evolution. On 11 October 2026 we read the provider filters of ten casinos we review, all offshore and not licensed in Australia: BitStarz showed 49 studios without Evolution, and Bizzo and eight casinos on the Novatrix platform (listed in our game providers guide) did not list it either.
From a connection in Germany the same day, BitStarz listed 88 studios including Evolution, and the eight Novatrix lobbies listed it too. A list we captured on 23 September 2026 included Evolution at BitStarz; from Australia on 11 October it did not.
We read the lists without an account and did not try to open a game, so they do not show whether the tables open for an Australian account. For how live dealer games work and who else makes them, see our live casino guide.
Is it legal to play Evolution games in Australia?
Not at an online casino. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) says the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 “makes it illegal for gambling providers to offer some online services to people in Australia”, and online casinos are among the banned services (checked 11 October 2026). None of Evolution’s listed licences is Australian.
ACMA also writes to studios. Its compliance report of October 2025 says it wrote to 63 software providers whose games were available on an illegal gambling website, and 27 responded and acted to keep their content out of “restricted jurisdictions such as Australia”. ACMA names none of the 63, so we cannot say whether Evolution was one.
The law is tightening. The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 26 August 2026; most of it starts on 1 January 2027, including powers to block payments to illegal gambling services. Our guide to the law on real-money online casinos covers the detail.
Safer play. Gambling Help Online is available 24 hours a day on 1800 858 858 and at gamblinghelponline.org.au. You can self-exclude from licensed Australian online wagering at betstop.gov.au. Set a limit before you play. You must be 18 or over. More contacts are on our support resources page.
Evolution Gaming FAQ
Is Evolution Gaming a real company?
Yes. Evolution AB (publ) is a Swedish public company, founded in 2006 and listed on the main market of Nasdaq Stockholm since 7 June 2017. It publishes audited annual reports and holds licences in Malta, Great Britain and the Isle of Man, all listed in the regulators’ registers on 11 October 2026.
Are Evolution games rigged?
We have no evidence either way. Evolution publishes an RTP of 96.08% for Crazy Time; its pages for Lightning Roulette, MONOPOLY Live and Dream Catcher give none. We have not seen a lab certificate for an Evolution game (checked 11 October 2026).
Why was Evolution fined in the UK in 2026?
Strictly, it agreed a payment in lieu of a financial penalty: £4,750,000, decided on 23 July 2026. The UK Gambling Commission found 5 of Evolution’s genuine games on 6 websites run by 2 operators it had not licensed, yet reachable by players in Great Britain.
Can Australians play Evolution games legally?
Not at an online casino. The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 bans offering online casino services to people in Australia, and none of Evolution’s listed licences is Australian. Its games website redirected our Australian connection to a blocked-region page on 11 October 2026.
Sources and method
- Evolution AB (publ), Annual Report 2025, published 1 April 2026: legal entity, founding year, listing, studios, brands, licence list, subsidiaries, revenue invoiced by country (checked 11 October 2026)
- Evolution, Interim report April–June 2026, 17 July 2026: operators, staff, share of regulated markets
- Evolution, licences page and timeline (checked 11 October 2026)
- Evolution releases on Cision: Year-end report 2020 (10 February 2021); Big Time Gaming agreement (12 April 2021); Big Time Gaming completion (30 June 2021); Nolimit City completion (8 August 2022)
- Registers, checked 11 October 2026: Malta Gaming Authority; UK Gambling Commission, account 41655; Isle of Man GSC licensee register (updated 2 October 2026)
- UK Gambling Commission, regulatory action against Evolution, decision 23 July 2026 (checked 11 October 2026)
- Evolution game pages, checked 11 October 2026: Crazy Time, Lightning Roulette, MONOPOLY Live, Dream Catcher
- eCOGRA, RNG certification and RTP testing; iTech Labs; GLI standards (checked 11 October 2026)
- Our access check: games.evolution.com and evolution.com opened three times each through an Australian connection and from a European server, 11 October 2026
- Our lobby recheck, 11 October 2026: provider filters of BitStarz, Bizzo, King Billy, Woo, Ricky, Casinonic, CasinoChan, PlayAmo, Golden Crown and Dundee Slots, read without logging in through an Australian connection and, for comparison, from a server in Germany (Bizzo from Australia only)
- Our casino files: studio lists captured from casino lobbies on 23 September 2026; a list can miss studios a lobby carries
- Australian Communications and Media Authority: About the Interactive Gambling Act (checked 11 October 2026); Compliance priority 2024–25 report, October 2025, p. 9
- Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026, as made: assent 26 August 2026, commencement table (read 11 October 2026)
Written by: Helene Berner · First published: 11 October 2026 · Last updated: 11 October 2026