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Evolution – INTERIM REPORT FOR JANUARY-SEPTEMBER 2021

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Evolution released today its Interim Report for January-September 2021.

Third quarter of 2021 (Q3 2020)

  • Operating revenues increased by 97% to EUR 276.0 million (140.0)
  • EBITDA increased by 113% to EUR 192.9 million (90.7), corresponding to a margin of 69.9% (64.8)
  • Profit for the period amounted to EUR 157.4 million (79.4)
  • Earnings per share amounted to EUR 0.73 (0.44)

January-September 2021 (9M 2020)

  • Operating revenues increased by 100% to EUR 768.5 million (383.5)
  • EBITDA increased by 124% to EUR 527.7 million (236.0), corresponding to a margin of 68.7% (61.5)
  • Profit for the period amounted to EUR 433.9 million (204.0)
  • Earnings per share amounted to EUR 2.03 (1.12)

Events during the third quarter of 2021

  • High demand for Live Casino generates a +53% growth YoY
  • RNG revenue growth 7.9% compared to pro-forma Q3 2020
  • Continued expansion in the US with opening of a new live casino studio in Michigan. After the end of the period launch of RNG-games in Connecticut with live games to follow.

Summary of the third quarter and the first nine months of 2021

 

 

CEO’s comments

The third quarter this year has been another quarter of extremely high activity within Evolution. The expansion of our business at the current speed is simply put – hard work – and I want to start these comments by thanking everyone in Evolution for great work during this period, without your effort and commitment the achieved financial results would not be possible.

The result for the third quarter 2021 has once again proven that our strategy to focus on the entertainment of the end-users and seamless and flawless experience is successful. Revenues in the third quarter increased by 97 percent to EUR 276 million, while the EBITDA increased to EUR 192.9 million. The EBITDA corresponds to a margin of 69.9 percent, exceeding our guidance for 2021.

Top-line growth is driven by very strong global demand for Live Casino but also impacted positively from our increased RNG business. Live Casino revenue growth was 53.2 percent compared to Q3 2020, which is higher than the pre-pandemic growth rate levels, showing that many of our newer players are staying in the network. RNG growth was 7.9 percent compared to pro-forma figures of Q3 2020 for NetEnt and BTG. Big Time Gaming, which was fully consolidated into our results in the third quarter, contributed with EUR 10.6 million in revenue. BTG stand-alone is growing at a rate of over 30 percent in the quarter, compared to their corresponding quarter in 2020. Our NetEnt and Red Tiger brands show growth of about 3 percent compared to the same quarter 2020 and while this development is in line with our expectations, our ambition for our NetEnt and Red Tiger brands is to deliver stronger growth moving into 2022.

As I have mentioned earlier this year, we are in the process of reshaping our RNG business. This year we have both re-structured the product roadmap and also re-built the complete technical platform for NetEnt. We are right now rolling out our updated integration for casino, One Stop Shop (OSS), towards customers which enables operators to reach all our existing content from one single integration and ensures that access to future Evolution content will go seamless and fast world-wide. This is a major step for both us and our customers but even more so for all our end users who will get more fantastic Evolution content. One side effect of this total technical make-over has been fewer new game releases in 2021.

As always, we continue to develop our portfolio of games. While our game shows, including successful wheel based games such as Monopoly Live and Crazy Time, continue to attract players, we continue to broaden the audience for the game show category. Our new bouncing ball game – Cash or Crash – adds strategic and decision-making features in a game show style game. This game is all about player choice and the ability for the player to control the outcome. We also launched Fan Tan – a fresh twist on the beautiful traditional Asian bead game.

Besides adding new unique games, it’s absolutely crucial to constantly enhance the end-user experience and entertainment value through enhanced and innovative user interfaces. Reduce all small bottlenecks and make it seamless. During the quarter, we launched an improved user interface to our traditional Blackjack game, through a new zooming feature in portrait mode. This clearly improves the gaming experience further.

The aim with all our offerings is to excite and entertain players with the best possible choice of world-class gaming. We are committed to creating the most immersive and exciting gaming experiences available.

The North American online casino market continues to develop rapidly in both US and Canada. In Michigan, where we introduced our portfolio of NetEnt games in the beginning of the year, we launched our live casino in the beginning of the quarter. The studio is off to a very good start and this best-in-class offering is yet another enabler of growth in the US market. After the end of the period we were first to the market with our slot games in Connecticut. We expect Live games to follow soon, Connecticut will be the 4th studio we operate in the US. Also after the end of the period we launched our live and RNG games with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, it will be the 4th province in Canada to go live from our Canadian studio.

Ongoing studio projects include new studios in Madrid and Yerevan. This quarter, a lot of business focus has been centred around investing and establishing new studios. As always, expansion potential lies in existing markets, as well as new geographies and we will, as a natural part of our business, continue to expand and invest in existing studios both in North America and other regions at the same level as earlier.

Also, during the past quarter, we signed an agreement to acquire DigiWheel in an all-cash deal. DigiWheel’s technology is exciting, innovative and unique and will be blended into our online Live Casino games and game shows. The ambition is to launch new games in 2022 using this technology.

As stated, our ambition is to continue to strengthen our leading position in the online casino market. One of the corner stones which allows us to increase the gap to our competitors even further is through product innovation. In February, as things are getting back to normal, it is once again time for ICE in London. I am already now very excited about presenting our 2022 road-map.

We are now well on our way into an exciting and very hectic last quarter and we have had strong start to the fourth quarter so far. New games to release, new studios to build, OSS to be rolled out and great new Evolutioneers to recruit at the same time as all of us already here need to focus hard on what we can do better, what we can do to make Evolution a little bit better every day.

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BMM TESTLABS PROMOTES SACHA MCLAUGHLIN TO VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL QUALITY ASSURANCE

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17 hours ago

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July 7, 2025

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BMM Testlabs, the world’s original gaming test lab renowned for exceptional product compliance and certification services, today announced the promotion of Sacha McLaughlin to Vice President of Global Quality Assurance.

BMM’s President of Land-Based Gaming & Inspections, Kirk White, said, “Sacha has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership, operational excellence, and a customer-first attitude. Her experience and passion will be critical as we continue to grow our QA services to meet the always-evolving needs of the global gaming industry.”

With over 18 years of experience in software implementation and seven years in the gaming industry, McLaughlin brings extensive knowledge of both agile and waterfall development methodologies, test planning, project management, and cross-regional team leadership. She is recognized for her ability to build and scale QA organizations that deliver quality, speed, and value to customers.

McLaughlin joined BMM in 2018 and has held roles of increasing responsibility within the Company, most recently serving as Senior Director of Quality Assurance. Throughout her tenure, she has been instrumental in expanding BMM’s QA capabilities and helping customers launch products into the global gaming market more quickly, with a focus on regulatory compliance, functionality, fairness, and security.

The post BMM TESTLABS PROMOTES SACHA MCLAUGHLIN TO VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL QUALITY ASSURANCE appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

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Totogaming Joins Cernica Pantelimon RunFest: Not Just Present, But Fully Participating

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17 hours ago

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July 7, 2025

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“We weren’t just present — we were participants of Runfest. And that’s one of the most important aspects,” said Artak Ashkhatoyan, Deputy CEO of Totogaming.

On July 6, Totogaming joined the Cernica Pantelimon Runfest in Romania, once again emphasizing the importance of promoting amateur sports and a healthy lifestyle.

“Supporting such initiatives is a priority for TotoGaming. First, 50% of the proceeds from RunFest will be donated to the CLOVES Romania Foundation, supporting children affected by CLOVES Syndrome. And second, we’ve always believed in showing our passion for sports through actions, not just words. Have you noticed how we’re constantly rushing through life, yet when we look back, it often feels like we haven’t moved at all? It’s important for us to lead by example and show the importance of participation. This is exactly the message we’re promoting through our team’s active involvement in the marathon. After all, there can never be too much sport in our lives,” said TotoGaming’s Deputy CEO, Artak Ashkhatoyan.

A Simple Concept, a Powerful Impact

The concept of this sports event is straightforward: choose a distance between 1 to 21 kilometers and run. The goal? Make sport an integral part of everyday life. The crowd certainly embraced that, gathering as early as 8:30 a.m. — on a Sunday morning.

Totogaming contributed in two distinct capacities: as an official sponsor and as an active participant. A dedicated team of 13 employees represented the company at the Cernica Pantelimon RunFest, with 7 of them proudly taking part as runners.

More Than Just a Run

It wasn’t an easy challenge — especially because among Totogaming’s runners were people for whom running isn’t a daily habit, or even part of their life at all. Yet they couldn’t miss the opportunity, not least from the perspective of corporate responsibility.

“We just finished the 7.5-kilometer race!” shared Petrut-Adrian Toea from the Totogaming team.

“It was amazing, honestly. Around the 2-kilometer mark, I had this little battle with myself — I told myself I had to finish the race, no matter what. And I did it! I came in around 60th place out of over 100 runners, which for me is a really good result.”

“I see my participation as a small contribution toward promoting a healthy lifestyle. In my close circle, everyone knows I’m not exactly the sporty type. I’m not athletic, and I usually prefer having fun in other ways. But showing up here, early in the morning, in this intense heat, and completing almost 8 kilometers with just one short break — I think it set a good example.”

“I hope seeing someone like me finish this challenge motivates my friends to try something similar for their own health. I believe that’s a meaningful contribution”, – added Petrut-Andrea.

Totogaming also made it possible for every attendee to bring sport into their lives — quite literally. At the Totogaming tent, participants could ride stationary bikes and receive prizes based on the number of points they earned through their efforts.

Whether they were running, cycling, or simply cheering for friends, the goal for everyone was the same: to reach the destination of champions — by bringing sport into everyday life.

The post Totogaming Joins Cernica Pantelimon RunFest: Not Just Present, But Fully Participating appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Liftoff’s 2025 Mobile Ad Creative Index Reveals UGC Is a Key Differentiator for Top Apps

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18 hours ago

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July 7, 2025

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Major findings from the newly launched report include playable ads having the potential to deliver impression-to-install rates 16 times that of non-playable formats for emerging gaming apps and a 20% increase in spending on interactive ads year over year.

Liftoff, a leading AI-enabled growth platform for the mobile app economy, has published its seventh annual Mobile Ad Creative Index. The report explores top creative trends that are attracting and scaling in ad spend across consumer apps and games. It also highlights the expanding role of AI in creative production, testing, and optimization.

This year’s Mobile Ad Creative Index specifically analyzes creative concepts that have excelled in scale for Liftoff’s highest-spending advertisers over the past 12 to 48 months. It is based on findings from over 4.7 trillion impressions, 263 billion clicks, and 1.1 billion installs between 1 January 2023 and 31 May 2025.

 

Highlights from the report include:

Top consumer apps are investing in interactive ads to compete for engagement

In 2024, the share of spend on interactive ads for top apps increased by 20% year over year. The share of spend increased by 2% for spenders outside the top tier. Top-spending apps differentiate their campaigns by adding innovations to evergreen concepts such as social scrollers, carousels, and scratch-offs.

Playable ads deliver returns across ad budgets for mobile game advertisers

In 2024, the share of spend on playable ads for top games averaged 35% higher than other games. Across all ad budgets, however, playable ads delivered higher conversion rates. Impression-to-install rates were 8 times that of non-playable formats for top spenders and 16 times that of non-playable formats for other game advertisers.

Tailoring “metaplay” elements to motivations can improve performance

“Metaplay” elements—gameplay that diverges from an app’s core design to appeal to a broader audience—are widespread, but top games gain an edge by tailoring their metaplay ads to the publisher audience. The report found that aligning “metaplay” creative with publisher audiences resulted in a 93% increase in installs-per-mille.

UGC is becoming a key differentiator in driving scale for consumer apps

The share of spend on user-generated content (UGC) increased 11% for top-spending apps, with social and utility apps seeing the most significant jump of nearly 30% between 2023 and 2024.

Widespread adoption of Gen AI leads to more customized ad experiences

Creative teams increasingly leverage AI to enhance top-performing assets with 3D and motion and to create and test variations. Top advertisers also use AI to recombine their assets in customized ad experiences that break away from standard video to playable formats.

Yann Zeller, Chief of Staff, Creative at Liftoff, said: “Today’s creative landscape is shaped by a single, powerful truth: attention is the commodity, and brands, games, and influencers are all vying for it. Great mobile ad experiences can earn attention by aligning context with behavior. As ad formats become richer and AI expands our ability to personalize and adapt creatives at scale, we’re able to unlock new insights into user behavior and motivation. We see users spend meaningful stretches with the right content, sometimes 60 to 90 seconds when the ad feels personal or prompts meaningful participation. This isn’t just a better way to advertise—it’s a better way to tell stories and the most exciting brief we’ve had in years.”

Soren Steelquist, Director of Creative Production, said: “The proof is in the data—more and more consumer apps are incorporating UGC into every stage of their marketing, and programmatic is no different. UGC works because it’s authentic and relatable, and users are more likely to be influenced by ad when it’s coming from a trustworthy source. To see higher impact from UGC creatives, work with a partner that can match the right creator with your brand and develop winning concepts that resonate with audiences.”

The post Liftoff’s 2025 Mobile Ad Creative Index Reveals UGC Is a Key Differentiator for Top Apps appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

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