Evolution Ends $85 Million Galaxy Gaming Takeover After Approval Delays

Evolution has walked away from its planned $85 million acquisition of Galaxy Gaming after failing to secure two outstanding regulatory approvals before the deal’s closing deadline. The Swedish casino technology giant notified Galaxy Gaming this week that it was terminating the merger agreement, and Evolution will pay a $5.2 million termination fee as part of the exit.

The closing period for the transaction expired last week, and Galaxy Gaming had confirmed just days earlier that the two remaining regulatory sign-offs still had not come through. The Las Vegas-based table games supplier said it was weighing whether to push for another extension or simply end the agreement. Evolution ultimately made that decision first, choosing to withdraw rather than continue waiting on approvals that showed no clear timeline for resolution.

A Deal Two Years in the Making Falls Apart

Evolution first announced its intent to acquire Galaxy Gaming back in July 2024, agreeing to buy all outstanding shares in a transaction valued at roughly $85 million. The deal was framed at the time as a way for Evolution to deepen its footprint in the U.S. land-based casino market, adding Galaxy Gaming’s extensive table games catalog and its network of more than 600 casino partners to Evolution’s live dealer and RNG portfolio.

Galaxy Gaming, founded in 1998 and headquartered in Las Vegas, bills itself as the world’s largest independent developer and distributor of proprietary casino table games. Its installed base spans thousands of gaming tables across North America, the Caribbean, the British Isles, and beyond, with licensing agreements that stretch into online casino markets as well. That scale made it an attractive bolt-on for Evolution, but two years of pursuing regulatory clearance across multiple jurisdictions proved to be the deal’s undoing.

Despite scrapping the takeover, Evolution said the two companies will continue operating under their existing commercial relationship, which includes a 10-year licensing agreement extension the pair signed back in 2023. That means Galaxy Gaming’s games will keep showing up on casino floors tied to Evolution’s broader distribution network even without a formal ownership change.

Evolution CEO Downplays the Impact

Evolution CEO Martin Carlesund addressed the collapsed deal alongside the company’s second-quarter results, which showed net revenue slipping 1.2% year-over-year to €517.8 million, driven largely by a 3.7% decline in Asia. EBITDA came in at €341 million, down slightly from €345.3 million in the same period last year, even as European revenue returned to growth, climbing 3.5% quarter-over-quarter, and Latin American revenue jumped 26.3% year-over-year.

“Galaxy is a great company; however, due to its size, the transaction is not significant for Evolution,” Carlesund said. “The outcome has no material impact on our existing business, our US operations, or our long-term ambitions.” He noted that Evolution had devoted substantial time and resources over the past two years navigating the acquisition’s administrative and regulatory requirements, but that the company’s revenue and margins had still improved compared to the first quarter, with cost controls holding and cash flow strengthening.

What Comes Next for Galaxy Gaming

With the merger officially dead, Galaxy Gaming is now left to chart its own path forward as a standalone, publicly traded company on the OTC markets. The $5.2 million termination fee gives it some financial cushion, and its ongoing licensing relationship with Evolution keeps a key revenue stream intact. Still, the collapse of a two-year courtship raises questions about whether another suitor could emerge, or whether Galaxy Gaming will lean further into its own product roadmap, including recent pushes like its MONOPOLY-branded table games progressive series rolling out across UK casinos.

For an industry that has seen consolidation accelerate in recent years, a scrapped $85 million deal is a reminder that regulatory approval timelines remain one of the biggest variables in casino M&A, capable of unwinding even carefully negotiated agreements between established players. Bettors and casino operators who track which suppliers sit behind their favorite live dealer casino apps will be watching to see whether Galaxy Gaming stays independent or eventually finds a new partner. In the meantime, players weighing where to spend real money at the tables can still compare the current crop of sportsbook reviews and casino offerings that continue to lean on Galaxy Gaming’s table game technology behind the scenes.