Evolution Gaming Acquires Ezugi to Bolster Live Casino Offering

As rare as it is in the live casino industry, the behemoth Evolution Gaming has just announced that it has acquired Ezugi, another well-known live gaming industry veteran. This will give the former additional market shares, together with product development and operational capability in existing markets like the US and Romania.

Evolution will pay an initial consideration of $12 million with possible additional consideration of a maximum of $6 million. The transaction is scheduled for completion in early 2019. As Kfir Kugler, CEO and founder of Ezugi, puts it: “Evolution’s superior offering in areas such as streaming quality and speed, user experience, game choice and all-round operational excellence will help bring the service to the current Ezugi operators to the next level.”

Established in 2012, Ezugi is registered and licensed by the Curacao eGaming Licensing Authority. Some of its biggest clients include Unibet, LeoVegas, GVC Holdings, as well as Golden Palace and Golden Nugget casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In that same market, Evolution launched its ninth studio just a few months ago, being the second Live Casino supplier to achieve that milestone.

Ezugi has 20 games which are live-streamed 24/7 from 9 studios in different locations around the world: Bulgaria, Latvia, Latin America, Portomaso, Queenco Hotel and Casino, and Romania. This includes blackjack with bet behind and auto split, different roulette tables, baccarat, Casino Hold’em, Bet On Numbers and Keno.

The games are verified by the SCG-Bulgaria, iTech Labs, BMM and RSG-Eclipse, and can be played on mobile and desktop. After the acquisition, the operations are expected to add 2-4% to Evolution’s 2019 revenues.

We are yet to see what impact this move will have on both companies. Ezugi has been consistent in improving their software and had plans to expand into Italy, Spain, Sweden and Denmark, which would have meant more competition and getting in the way of things from Evolution’s point of view.

On the one hand, it’s positive that Ezugi will benefit from Evolution’s competence and state-of-the-art game know-how; but on the other, less competition could diminish innovation and originality that different live gaming studios bring to the table. Nevertheless, there remains plenty of live casino studios that offer just that, including NetEnt, Microgaming, Pragmatic (Extreme Live), Authentic, and Playtech.

So, with that in mind, do you approve the merger? Let us know in the comments.