There won’t be regulated online casinos in new parts of the United States anytime soon. That didn’t result in a slowdown for Evolution, however, in its most recent quarter. Rather, the company reported gains during Q1 2024.
Those gains included revenue for its North American segment in a year-over-year comparison. While the expansion of legal online casino play into new US markets would certainly be a welcome development for Evolution, the company’s global operations and diverse offerings could offer stability on a long-term basis even if that does not occur.
Evolution discloses Q1 2024 numbers
According to Evolution’s Q1 2024 press release , its global operating revenues from all sources grew by 16.7% year-over-year during the first three months of 2024. Isolating those revenues to just North America, the sum was $66,632,679.00 (62.1 million Euros), amounting to a 7.7% increase over Q1 2023.
The company’s North American segment is its third-most valuable in terms of revenue, outproduced several times over by Evolution’s revenue from Asia and Europe. Nonetheless, Evolution shared business updates with investors from its US operations.
Those included a new partnership with Fanatics Betting & Gaming, the expansion of its collaboration with Caesars Entertainment , and entry into Delaware via Rush Street Interactive . That expansion of the company’s business into Delaware may be the last such move for the foreseeable future.
US online casino expansion is off the table for now
Following the failure of legislation in Maine  attempts to grow the map in terms of US jurisdictions with regulated online casino platforms for 2024 appear dead. New York Sen. Joseph Addabbo is still holding out a slim hope for his state, but the focus as far as gaming expansion in that state goes is centered on downstate physical casinos.
As a result, companies like Evolution cannot bank on getting access to large swaths of new US players for growth in terms of their North American businesses. Rather, they will have to focus on maximizing their share of existing markets within the scope of the US.
Evolution has a strong foothold in the US in existing online casino markets when it comes to live dealer games. While there are rumblings of online casino operators like BetMGM beginning to take interest in live-dealer games , that situation remains an aspiration for now.
Such a change could eat into Evolution’s revenues if it becomes widespread. In the first quarter of 2024, revenue from live games accounted for about 86% of the total for Evolution. However, the report does not break down how much of that revenue from live casino products came specifically from the US.
Even if US online casino operators start mostly producing proprietary live-dealer games, Evolution still has a card to play. The question is simply to what extent that card might change the game given the increased competition.
NetEnt’s potential to further Evolution’s growth
In the US, Evolution provides online slots and virtual table games to its partners under the NetEnt brand. Evolution CEO Martin Carlesund stated that the company increased the rate of its game production in 2023 under that banner and plans to continue that pace going forward.
There’s a catch to that situation for Evolution, however. While the potential for NetEnt to gain market share is greater than Evolution in terms of the market for live-dealer games, there is also far more competition in the US online slots space .
Thus, finding a path to reliable double-digit growth in that space will be difficult. It requires more than a robust production of new titles. In addition, studios like NetEnt need to ensure that the games they are producing include popular elements and features.
Operators’ demands for innovative and new games are seemingly endless. At the same time, getting NetEnt content included in that supply has a ceiling and is just as difficult as proponents are finding the task of legalizing online casinos in new US jurisdictions right now.
For the moment, however, shareholders in Evolution are likely content with the company’s performance. If online casino expansion continues to stagnate in the US, Evolution may lean more on its growth elsewhere .
Fortunately for the company, its North American operations currently represent a small portion of its global revenues.
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