4 minute read
Exciting Times Ahead for Evolution in South Africa
Evolution Group is a leading B2B provider of live dealer fixed odds and online instant games (slots) products, and the company is synonymous with the very best solutions and the widest choice in the online gaming world. There are currently two Evolution brands active in South Africa: Evolution and Ezugi, with NetEnt and Red Tiger soon to go live. Evolution acquired Ezugi in 2018, and NetEnt and Red Tiger in 2020, creating one of the industry’s largest portfolios of leading live dealer fixed odds games, RNG table games, and instant games.
Evolution Group secured its National Manufacturer license from the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board (WCGRB) in December 2019. Evolution now partners with leading online operators licenced in South Africa to include the full suite of Evolution and Ezugi live dealer fixed odds games via a seamless API integration. Operators in South Africa have access to a world-class portfolio of First Person games, classic live dealer fixed odds games (Roulette, Baccarat, and Blackjack), and live game shows, including popular titles such as Crazy Time, Lightning Roulette, Deal or No Deal Live, and Dream Catcher. Evolution’s game shows redefined live dealer fixed odds games, combining the very best of traditional games with layers of innovative, engaging gameplay. Ezugi adds further value by offering both live dealer fixed odds games, for example Roulette, Blackjack and Baccarat, and popular retail games such as Bet on Numbers and Golden Balls.
Evolution is a leading provider in the online market in South Africa, and our ambition is to gain more of both online and retail market share in South Africa, working to increase the number of customers, both B2B and B2C. When it comes to retail, we are currently growing our market share. While retail growth is somewhat slow, there are plans to increase the rate of growth across this vertical, with the aim to increase the games footprint to 100% of the market share by the end of 2022.
In order to accomplish our ambitious targets we’re growing our organization in Africa. We’re recruiting more staff both locally as well as in key African countries, e.g. Nigeria. Local expertise and presence is important for us and our experienced teams have great knowledge of regulation and contacts in the local market. Looking forward, we are eagerly awaiting the roll out of our instant game portfolio.
It is anticipated that operators who are licensed through the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator will be going live with Evolution Group slots within the next few months, with those operators licensed via the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board following suit. We’re excited about giving players the chance to play classic, engaging instant games such as Starburst, Gonzo’s Quest, and Piggy Riches Megaways™.
We will continue to expand our portfolio with new games that will be launched in accordance with our 2022 roadmap, for example XXXtreme Lightning Roulette from Evolution and Ultimate Sic Bo from Ezugi; both are engaging variations of the original game where you can win extreme multiplied payouts. We are also looking forward to growing our presence in South Africa, building on our existing treasured partnerships (and forging new ones) for shared success in the industry.
Evolution AB (publ) (”Evolution”) develops, produces, markets and licenses fullyintegrated B2B Live Casino solutions to gaming operators. Since its inception in 2006, Evolution has developed into a leading B2B provider with 500+ operators among its customers. The group currently employs 12,0000 people in studios across Europe and in North America. The parent company is based in Sweden and listed on Nasdaq Stockholm with the ticker EVO. Visit www.evolution.com for more information. Evolution is licensed and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority under license MGA/B2B/187/2010. Evolution is also licensed and regulated in many other jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada, Romania, South Africa, and others.
