Evolution Fined £4.75m by UKGC for Supply Chain Lapses

Evolution Malta Holding Limited has agreed to a £4.75 million regulatory settlement after a UK Gambling Commission investigation uncovered that its games were being made available through unlicensed operators accessible to British consumers. The probe, which covered December 2023 to November 2024, found Evolution’s content on six websites that did not hold a Gambling Commission licence.

The Commission determined that Evolution’s anti-money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessment had failed to properly flag that two of its business partners were distributing the supplier’s games to the British market without a licence. Further shortcomings included a lack of effective policies, procedures and controls to prevent supply to unlicensed operators, as well as non-compliance with customer due diligence requirements.

The case is part of the regulator’s broader enforcement push to keep unlicensed gambling operators away from British consumers and to ensure licensed suppliers maintain rigorous distribution oversight.

John Pierce, the Commission’s Director of Enforcement, said the investigation “exposed serious weaknesses in Evolution’s anti-money laundering risk assessment and its oversight of risks within its supply chain.” He added that the company’s AML risk assessment was outdated and failed to adequately consider the risk of games reaching unlicensed operators, creating “a significant gap between the controls on paper and their effectiveness in practice.”

Pierce noted that Evolution responded “swiftly and comprehensively” once the issues were identified, taking immediate action to strengthen controls. Subsequent testing has not found further concerns. He stressed that the case “provides an important lesson for the industry,” urging operators to ensure risk assessments are current, regularly tested, and reflective of real-world risks. He concluded: “Operators should be under no illusion. We will continue to proactively monitor and test the market… Where we find failings, we will take decisive regulatory action.”