Evolution AB Stock Slides After Asia Partner License Revocation

• Evolution shares sink as Philippine partner loses casino license
• JPMorgan downgrade compounds investor concerns over growth outlook
• B2B license intact, but compliance risks spook market

Evolution AB’s [EVO] stock fell 6% on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange on Thursday after the Philippine gambling regulator revoked the license of its Asian partner, One Visaya Gaming Corp (OVGC). The stock remained under pressure Friday following a downgrade from J.P. Morgan, a double blow for the live-dealer specialist.

The Swedish company partnered with Cebu City, Philippines-based OVGC in June to launch a new live-dealer studio in Asia. At the time, it described the tie-up as a “major milestone in our long-term commitment to the region.” OVGC also operates an online casino, BigWin29, that carries Evolution’s games.

KYC Failure

Gaming regulator PAGCOR told Bloomberg Thursday it had revoked OVGC’s B2C online casino license for compliance failures. The company had neglected to perform the necessary know-your-customer (KYC) checks required to prevent fraud and money laundering.

OVGC now has until October 8 to shut BigWin29 down. However, the company’s B2B license hasn’t been impacted, which means the joint studio project hasn’t been affected.

The B2C and B2B licenses are fully independent from each other and there is no issue with the studio,” Evolution spokesperson Adrian Westman told Bloomberg.

Even so, investors punished the stock, erasing about SEK 9.6 billion ($880 million) in value. Evolution is down ~11.35% this year, compared with ~ +9.08% gains in the OMX Stockholm 30 index.

JPMorgan Downgrade

On Friday, JPMorgan cut its rating on Evolution to Underweight from Neutral and slashed its price target to SEK 675 from SEK 830. Analysts cited slowing growth in Europe, margin pressure, and heightened regulatory uncertainty in Asia.

Other brokers remain more upbeat, with consensus still skewed to Buy. Yet the downgrade underlines growing investor unease over whether Evolution can sustain double-digit growth in newer markets such as the Philippines and India.

Back in August, Evolution’s stock tumbled after a court filing included covertly recorded footage of company executives acknowledging that its casino products had ended up in prohibited markets, including Iran, Sudan, and China.