Online casino live dealer specialists Evolution Gaming saw profit more than double in the second quarter of 2015.
Revenue in the six months ending June 30 rose 55% to €17.9m, while adjusted earnings rose 89% to €7.7m as margins improved eight points to 43% and profit rose 102% to €5.9m. The numbers for the first half of 2015 are similarly stellar, with revenue up 49%, earnings up 92% and profit up 109%.
The second quarter was an eventful period, given the launch of Evolution’s Belgium-based live dealer studio at Casino de Spa. Evolution CEO Jens von Bahr said the studio now has six land-based casino partners as well as “a large number” of clients who operate online gaming arcades, giving Evolution “a virtual monopoly position in the market.” Von Bahr said he expects Belgium will become Evolution’s largest regulated market after the UK.
Von Bahr said Evolution’s clients were having particular success in getting mobile users to try out the live dealer option. Mobile accounted for 24% of operator revenue generated via Evolution’s platform, up from 11% in the same period last year. Von Bahr said in absolute numbers, mobile revenue grew in excess of 250% “without cannibalizing other platforms.”
This week, Evolution announced a deal to supply Genting Alderney with a live dealer product. The company’s parent outfit operates over 40 land-based casinos in the UK and Von Bahr sees “good opportunities to develop our partnership over time.”
In the more immediate future, Von Bahr said the lower activity the company traditionally associates with the third quarter “is no longer to be seen.” Von Bahr says Evolution has “a strong tailwind” and conditions are “exceptionally good” for Evolution staking out an even larger piece of the live dealer business.
