A bet on being real. Fredrik Österberg writes about Evolution’s early days

Looking back at those first days of Evolution, it’s almost funny how uncertain everything felt. We had no guarantees, just a bold idea and a stubborn belief that we could make something out of nothing.

Live casino was far from a sure bet. Most people doubted it would work. They thought (as some still do) that casino in the online world was unfeasible. Would players really trust a game on a screen? Could the technology hold up? Would operators see enough value in what we were building? And could a small startup, working with limited resources, change the way people thought about casino entertainment?

We thought so. Not many others did, but that never stopped us. The first product was as simple as it gets. A couple of tables, a bare-bones studio, a live stream via grainy web cameras, and a team working around the clock to keep it all running. The first studio, in Riga’s old town, was not much bigger than a closet, with two blackjack tables and one roulette table. If someone walks through Evolution’s studios today, it’s hard to believe how far the company has come. We went from a garage gig to a large-scale entertainment company. That’s what makes Evolution’s 20-year journey so special. When we started, we didn’t have a polished product. We had a belief that live casino could be much more than a camera pointed at a table. And we were ready to prove it.

Proof of live

Those early years were all about trust. Players needed to believe what they saw was real. (So we put tube TV’s behind game hosts, airing BBC news coverage 24/7 to prove our footage was live.) Operators needed to believe we could deliver and grow. And inside the team, we had to believe that every small improvement counted. If the game wasn’t live, fair, stable and transparent, we had nothing. Trust was the foundation for everything. Without it, there was no entertainment, business, or future.

On the commercial side, as a technology provider, business-to-business had one big advantage: you knew exactly who you were up against. The operators, the competition, the product quality; it was all right there in front of you. You found out fast if your game was (or wasn’t) good enough. Our games were strong from the start, but that didn’t mean we could relax. We had to keep pushing, improving every release, every meeting, and every operator conversation.

Mobile was one of the first major breakthroughs. When smartphones started to change how people used the internet, it became clear that online live casino had to be there. We had to be there. Just shrinking down the desktop version was never going to cut it. The screen, the interface, the speed, the video, and the way players moved between games all had to be reconsidered. The team moved fast, and that speed helped Evolution build a strong position just as the market shifted to hand-held screens.

Getting live casino its own website tab might sound obvious now, but at the time it was a very important commercial milesone. Live games had to break out of the sea of online video slots. If players couldn’t find the games, they couldn’t play.  When one of the operators separated RNG (online video slots) from live casino games and gave it its own tab, the effect was immediate. It showed that this was not a side bet to slots. It was an emerging entertainment category in its own right.

Before that shift, we were still finding ways to get in front of clients without spending money we didn’t have. In the early days, we could not afford to attend ICE London properly. So we came up with a solution. We rented a comfortable bus with two conference rooms and a bar and parked it outside the venue. We picked up clients and held meetings while driving around for an hour or so. ICE organisers, naturally, didn’t appreciate the stunt. One day the police came because the bus was blocking the underground entrance at Earls Court. It was a little wild, and the meetings were occasionally comical, but things were starting to move.  

Table becomes the stage

Then came the moments when the games started to change what people expected from live casino. Immersive Roulette was one of those milestones. Suddenly, a live game was not only about being reliable. It could also be cinematic. Camera work, pacing, detail and presentation became part of the entertainment. The table was still real, but the way it was brought to players had moved to another level. With streaming technology evolving, players could see the roulette ball. Crystal clear, zoomed in.

Dedicated environments took the category up another gear. When operators started investing in their own branded spaces, it was not only about the look. It showed real commitment to the games and to Evolution as a partner. We figured out ways to tailor games to our clients’ needs and branding. That was when it became clear that live casino was not just a shared studio product anymore. It was becoming a core part of our clients’ business, with its own identity, its own standards, and real commercial weight.

Of course, plenty of things did not work out. We had ideas that were too early, some that were not good enough, and a few that simply failed. That’s the reality of building any business from scratch. You must be willing to try, to push, and to accept that sometimes the market is not ready for your ideas. But every time something failed, we learned. More than once, ideas that looked strange at first later pointed toward something important. That’s how innovation happens and changes the status quo.

If there’s one thing Evolution’s journey has taught me, it’s that you can never get comfortable. I remember times when we thought a deal was in the bag or that we had secured a position, only to get a wake-up call from the market. Once, in Malta, we went to a meeting at the Hilton expecting to sign a major operator. Instead, they turned us down and chose a competitor with a weaker product and a higher price. Those moments were good for us. They kept us hungry and sharp. We learned early on that nobody gives you leadership. You must earn it every day by improving, selling, delivering, and proving yourself again. Every single day.

That has always been part of Evolution’s DNA: combining ambition with creativity, hard work, and commercial drive. Having the best games and technology for a moment is not enough. Others will follow. Competition will copy. The gap will close if you get comfortable. So the question has always been the same: what is the next move, how do we raise the bar again, and how do we make the next version stronger than the last?

Those questions are still important for Evolution today.

What makes me proudest is the people story. Over the years, thousands of people have joined Evolution. Many started in entry-level roles, rolled up their sleeves, took responsibility and grew into managers and leaders. That’s the real proof of what the company has built. It shows that attitude counts, that opportunity is real, and that the culture has always been about doing the work, not just talking about it. Today, Evolution is driven by over 22,000 dedicated employees globally.

If I look back at how Evolution got where it is today, it comes down to a few simple principles. Make the game real. Make it trusted. Make it work. And then go back to the drawing board and make the game better. And above all, never lose sight of the player experience. That’s what decides the long-term value of the game portfolio.

When we first started, the idea was to bring real casino tables online. But as Evolution pushed forward, live casino became something much bigger. And then, we debuted the first game show. Game shows opened another important chapter. The creation of this category helped move our games to a new level: online interactive entertainment. Today, Evolution is built on a powerful mix of people, technology, operations, entertainment, licensed mathematics, presentation, rigorous compliance, and constant improvement. The best online interactive entertainment today is not just streamed. It’s produced, performed, engineered and sharpened every day by our Evolutioneers around the world.

The next hand

That’s why I still believe the real opportunity ahead of Evolution is enormous. The company has helped define live casino and has played a major role in expanding what online casino entertainment can be. Twenty years is a long time, but the Evolution story is far from finished. Players keep raising the bar. Technology keeps shifting. Our clients want stronger content, more differentiation, and deeper entertainment experiences.

This is where Evolution’s current leadership is so important. Under this leadership, the company has continued to grow, broaden its portfolio, and strengthen its position as a global casino entertainment provider. The potential of the next chapter is shaped by the management team, and the many talented people across Evolution who keep moving the company forward. The people who keep making Evolution better. Every day.

Evolution has every reason to be proud of what has been built. We started with a few web cameras by a roulette wheel ran by a back office of flat-packed furniture built by the founders. We battled through the early doubts, and helped create a whole new industry. But even as the leader of that industry, getting comfortable isn’t an option. The competition is increasing, and every success brings more challengers to the table.

After twenty years ahead of the game, I have every reason to believe Evolution is well positioned for an even bigger, more exciting, and unquestionably more challenging next chapter. The company has the people, the know-how, the reach, the culture, and the restless drive that have always set Evolution apart. That’s a strong proposition.

Looking back at the journey from the first small studio to where Evolution stands today, it’s honestly incredible. But in many ways, I see this as the end of the beginning. The belief that started the company is still relevant: online interactive entertainment experiences can always get better. And that belief is still present.

That’s what Evolution is working hard to continue to prove. And with the over 22,000-strong team driving the company forward, there are good reasons to believe the next twenty years can be just as exciting, if not more, than the first.