Lightning Storm: Evolution Gaming Reveals Record 2019 Profits, Launches Blitz of New Games
As the market-leading provider of live casino games, which is a massively growing segment of the online sector, anything Evolution Gaming does is a marker of health for this part of the industry.
The company’s yearly report was released this week, showing record profits and revenues in 2019.
Overall profits for the year stood at a hefty €197 million ($162.18 million), with operating revenues of nearly €367 million, or $397.6 million. That means revenues were up 49% on the previous year, which is a spectacularly high growth rate.
Moving forward, 2020 has been a busy year so far for the European giant, which is increasingly moving into the newly legal US markets.
Not only did Evolution Gaming officially launch its latest title, Lightning Baccarat (based on its highly popular Lightning Roulette and Lightning Dice formats), but it also debuted a whole host of upcoming games at the ICE 2020 industry showcase event in London at the beginning of February.
These new games included several game show-type high-production-value titles to fit in with Monopoly LIVE and Deal or No Deal Live. Also on display was a test version of the developer’s new Live Craps game for the US market, which should be the only live casino version of this classic dice game available online when it debuts later this year.
“Outstanding Year”
Evolution Gaming’s expansion is looking like it will continue apace from last year with no let-up. In 2019, the company signed deals with Parx Casino in New Jersey, international brands Paddy Power and Betfair (part of Flutter Entertainment), and Penn National Gaming.
It also extended its live studios in Malta and New Jersey, bringing its total of live tables in operation up to 700. Evolution now employs over 8,000 people.
“I am proud of what we have achieved in 2019, which has been an outstanding year from both a financial and operational perspective,” said Evolution CEO Martin Carlesund in a press statement.
Lightning Jackpots
As for the developer’s latest game, Lightning Baccarat is a continuation of the “Lightning” line of live casino titles that debuted back in 2018 with Lightning Roulette.
Set in custom-built studios, which look truly fantastic, these games add a novel jackpot spin to your usual live casino table game format.
Using the potential for virtual overlays to full effect, Lightning Baccarat will see between one and five cards selected as the Lightning Bonus cards before each round. Each one will come with a multiplier between 2x and 8x and will feature electrical effects when it’s selected and drawn.
Should any one of these come up during a winning battle with the banker, any wins will be multiplied by that amount.
With some pay-outs on a standard game of live baccarat being as much as 9:1, this offers the chance for real jackpot prizes if you pull two or more bonus cards.
However, all bets on Lightning Baccarat have an added 10% Lightning Fee to offset the potential for bigger wins.
“Our most traditional game yet, Baccarat was the natural next step in adding to our Lightning family. Baccarat players love the volatility of this classic game, and we’re giving them all they can handle with Lightning Baccarat,” said Evolution Chief Product Officer Todd Haushalter.
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