Evolution expanded its Connecticut live dealer studio, creating the company’s sixth such opening of a space serving US online casino operators. Human croupiers serve online gamblers in five states.
Evolution (Evolution AB (publ) 3,12 -2,19%) was allowed to begin serving Nutmeggers with a live stream when the state’s online gambling marketplace launched on Oct. 19, 2021.
In July 2022, the Connecticut live dealer studio opened.
That was just the beginning of the growth.
Evolution’s North American CEO Jacob Claesson posted the latest news on Dec. 19 on LinkedIn:
The end of the year didn’t only involve a lot of new games — but expansion of existing studios!
He also spoke in a Dec. 13 YouTube video titled New Studio Grand Opening.
Claesson said in the video:
We opened the studio here in Connecticut just about 15 months ago. Just a little over a year later, we’re almost 300 employees.
By comparison, Evolution’s Pennsylvania studio had more than 500 employees staffing its 24-hour operation in July 2022. However, that number has undoubtedly grown.
Meanwhile, Evolution has two studios in New Jersey, which is also where the first facility opened in 2018.
Single studios operate in Michigan and Pennsylvania. The Keystone State’s live stream serves iGaming apps in West Virginia.
None of the live dealer brands have studios in Delaware or Nevada. There may be reasons for that. Delaware is a small state with one operator. The state housing Sin City only offers web gamblers online poker.
Connecticut Live Dealer Studio Serves 2 Brands
Pennsylvania is the No. 1 online casino state by revenue, generating $186.9 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in October 2023. That same month, Connecticut brought in $36.5 million.
When Bonus toured the Pennsylvania studio in July 2022, Evolution offered nine online gambling operators branded studios. Still more operators used the unbranded tables for their live streams.
By comparison, Connecticut has two online casino operators. They are DraftKings Casino and Mohegan Sun, powered by FanDuel.
Those brands also offer online sportsbooks, which aren’t part of the live dealer experience. Fanatics Sportsbook is Connecticut’s third sports betting operator, partnered with the Connecticut Lottery Corporation (CLC).
However, Evolution’s advantage in Connecticut is it has no live dealer competitors.
Playtech Live‘s studios are in Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Light and Wonder (LNW) is in Michigan.
Stakelogic will hold a monopoly on the Rhode Island online casino operator’s business. Bally Casino is slated to launch there in 2024.
Online Casinos Want More Live Dealers
Despite the competition in other states, Evolution’s Interim Report | January-September 2023 shows its customers want it to scale up faster. Demand for live dealer services is outpaced by online casino operator demand.
Evolution CEO Martin Carlesund said in the report published on Oct. 26:
Our Live Casino revenue grew to EUR 385.8 million for the quarter and we see a higher demand for our product than what we currently can deliver.
Drilling down to North America, he said:
We continue to see growth for our Live product quarter to quarter in the existing states, while we in the past quarter take a step back in our RNG revenue compared to the second quarter. Together this results in a 9 percent growth in North America compared to same period last year but a slightly lower revenue in the third quarter compared to the second quarter.
From January to September 2023, live dealer revenue totaled 1.1 billion Euros vs. 853 million Euros during the same timeframe in 2022.
The report explained:
Growth is driven by Live Casino having grown in importance for most gaming operators and has become an integrated and strategically important product for them.
Connecticut Live Dealer Studio Causes Celebration
In his Dec. 19 post, Claesson thanked Evolution Operations Manager Cloe Caron Hurens, Evolution Project Coordinator Morgan Elstad, and Bryan T. Cafferelli, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) commissioner. DCP is Connecticut’s gaming regulator.
Elstad posted on LinkedIn that the project was challenging, but the team rose to the occasion:
This project has been a true showcase of teamwork, resilience, and innovation. I’m immensely proud of what we’ve achieved, and it wouldn’t have been possible without everyone involved.
The commitment and expertise have made this journey memorable. Looking forward to more successes and exciting projects on the horizon!
Based on what Elstad wrote, this may not be the last studio project for Evolution.
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