The UK Gambling Commission has published findings from the review that led to Evolution's £4.75m regulatory settlement. The regulator found the supplier violated AML requirements and third-party oversight rules, allowing its games to appear on six unlicensed sites accessible to British players.
The Commission identified five Evolution titles on six sites operated by two unlicensed operators. According to the UKGC, these sites received 'large volumes' of UK traffic between December 2023 and November 2024. Evolution was notified in December 2024, confirmed the games were genuine, and immediately geo-blocked them.
AML failures
The review established breaches of licence conditions 12.1.1 and 12.1.2. Evolution's 2024 AML risk assessment fell short of minimum regulatory requirements, particularly regarding third parties. The supplier failed to apply proper anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing procedures. Its policies did not meet the UK Money Laundering Regulations, including customer due diligence.
Evolution could not identify that two clients were supplying its content into the UK without licences.
Settlement terms
Besides the £4.75m penalty, Evolution must commission an independent audit of relevant policies and procedures within twelve months, publish the regulator's statement, and cover investigation costs.
The UKGC cited aggravating factors: the supplier's financial gain, the severity of breaches, previous industry warnings about illegal gambling, and risk to vulnerable players. Mitigating factors included a swift remediation plan after notification, full cooperation with the investigation, and early admission of failures.
