NewsRegulation2 min read
Evolution Agrees £4.75M Settlement Over Games Found on Unlicensed Sites
Evolution Malta Holding Limited has agreed a £4.75 million settlement with Great Britain's Gambling Commission after its online games appeared on six unlicensed websites that British consumers could access.
Written by Editorial Desk29 September 2026
Evolution Malta Holding Limited has agreed to a £4.75 million settlement with the Gambling Commission after an investigation found the supplier's online games on unlicensed gambling websites open to consumers in Great Britain. The Commission set out the case in a public statement dated July 23.
According to the regulator, Evolution's games appeared on six unlicensed sites between December 2023 and November 2024, when those sites drew large volumes of visits from UK consumers. Two operators Evolution did business with were supplying its games to British players without a Commission licence.
Evolution holds Commission licences as a gambling software supplier and casino game host. The case holds a supplier responsible for where its games end up, not only the operators who put them in front of players.
A risk assessment that missed two operators
A money laundering risk assessment is where a licensee sets out how its business could be used to launder money or finance terrorism, and the controls meant to stop it. The Commission found Evolution's assessment was not effective enough and did not account for the two operators.
The regulator also found Evolution lacked effective controls to keep its games away from unlicensed operators serving Great Britain, and that it did not meet customer due diligence requirements.
The company's money laundering risk assessment was outdated and failed to adequately consider the risk of its games being made available through unlicensed operators. As a result, there was a significant gap between the controls on paper and their effectiveness in practice.
Suspension was on the table
Pierce said the investigation and testing uncovered failings “serious enough for us to consider licence suspension.” He added that Evolution responded swiftly once the issues were identified and that later Commission testing found no further instances of concern.
The statement credits that response but does not say whether it is why the Commission settled rather than suspended. It also does not say how the £4.75 million is divided.
Pierce said the Commission will keep testing the market for licensed products appearing on illegal sites that target British consumers. “Where we find failings, we will take decisive regulatory action,” he said.
