Welcome to the Evolution Q2 2024 report. For the first part of the conference call, the participants will be in listen-only mode. During the questions and answer session, participants are able to ask questions by dialing pound key five on their telephone keypad. Now, I will hand the conference over to the speaker, CEO Martin Carlesund, and CFO Jacob Kaplan. Please go ahead.
Good morning. Welcome everyone to the presentation of Evolution second quarter of 2024. My name is Martin Carlesund, and I'm the CEO of Evolution. With me, I have our CFO, Jacob Kaplan. I will start with some comments on our performance in the quarter, whereafter I will hand over to Jacob for a closer look at our financials, as usual. After that, I will round off the presentation with an outlook for the remainder of 2024, and then we'll open up the call for questions. Before we move on, I would like to highlight that the picture that you see on this slide, which is from the actual rooftop bonus round, where lightning strikes from the skies in our latest, largest ever game show, Lightning Storm. It's a beautiful picture, and I just wanted to highlight that. Next slide, please.
The past quarter has been a period of high activity within Evolution, maintaining the high pace from the past 2 quarters, and as you also see from the slide, the momentum of activity is continuing into Q3. During the past 9 months, we have heavily increased our delivery capacity, and right now we are in the middle of bringing our products to new markets that are about to regulate or have recently regulated, such as Czech Republic, Brazil and Philippines. Long-term regulation of markets is positive and one of the key drivers for growth in our industry. During the quarter, we have further expanded our offering in U.S. by launching our live casino games in Delaware and also added some of our most successful games in several additional states. More is yet to come in that category.
Another step in further strengthening our presence and licensing in the US market took place after the end of the period, through that Evolution entered into an agreement to acquire Galaxy Gaming, and I will come back to that on a later slide. Online casino games exist to generate excitement and entertainment for players. A large part of that excitement comes from the fact that as we as players can win, and win really big on one single spin. This past quarter, Crazy Time paid out over EUR 35 million to over 5,000 players, the biggest payout ever in online casino in one single game round. Events like this brings excitement to the games and resonates with players.
Long term, the more of the game levels out, but short term, a big payout like that affects our revenue share negatively. Well, we have a truly great roadmap, 2024, and I actually think it outshines 2023. The roadmap is also 2024, a bit tilted towards the second half of the year, and we will, during 2025, work towards releasing more games earlier. This week, we have the early adopters release of the biggest game show, as already mentioned, in the history of online casino, Lightning Storm. That's the biggest launch ever for Evolution, and nothing but perfection is enough for this game, and I'm very excited about how this game will be received by our end users. I also look forward to the wide release of 2 Players in a few weeks.
Further, I want to comment on the 2 items that took place after the period. One is the announcement of the capital allocation framework set by the board of directors. It further clarifies our priorities when it comes to how we invest and distribute cash generated in our business. We have a strong track record of returns to shareholders during the past 10 years since our IPO. The new framework is no deviation to the way we have acted in the past, but it provides further clarity going forward. In the light of that framework, the second part is that the board also decided on a repurchase of shares to the amount of EUR 400 million, all in accordance with the new framework and our earlier actions. It shows the strength of our business as well as the strength of our balance sheet together with cash flow.
On the basis of this, Evolution can maintain an ambitious agenda for growth, while without limiting our investment in the business, while also returning significant capital to shareholders, both through dividends as well as buybacks. Before going to the next more regular slide, I want to show you something from our day-to-day work at Evolution and what a comment that Czech Republic is regulating really means. So let's have a look at the next slide. I thought I'd deviate a little from our set format slides and share something from our work lab. This is some pictures from the emerging Czech studio that we are about to launch in August. These pictures are basically 1-4 weeks old, and you can imagine this is, this is a hectic time in Prague right now.
Setting up a new studio is exciting and brings many parts of the company together: building crews, operational setup, recruitment, training, the first game, the first game presenters coming on, et cetera, et cetera. Almost every part of the company is involved in some way. We are in a great building in Prague, and the bottom left you see what will be the canteen and break area. Top left is the studio floor in development, and to the right in the slide is our office area and administration. At the bottom right, the first group of game presenters are going through our academy in a temporary academy. We're now in the final month of preparations before going live.
The Czech studio will be a relatively small part of the network initially, but we are happy to enter any new regulated market, and I want to show something from reality of building a studio, and this is what creating a flawless, entertaining, world-class playing experience for players looks like. And this is what gets us really excited in Evolution. Next slide, please. When it comes to financial highlights, we do see a bit of a slower quarter in terms of top line, which also affects the margin, and even though the quarter shows solid results and is affected by a large Crazy Time payout, it's not fully reflecting the operational performance. However, when looking further into 2024, we see a market that provides us with excellent opportunities and good momentum, as well as a company really well prepared to that journey.
Revenue amount to EUR 508 million, corresponding to 15% year-on-year revenue growth. Revenue growth at constant currency is estimated to 19% for the quarter. EBITDA margin is 68% in the second quarter. As mentioned earlier, we have had a very rapid expansion the past nine months, and it's natural that, that is followed by a period of consolidation, which we see in this quarter, where margins are much lower. We maintain the guidance for the full year of EBITDA margin in the range of 69%-71%. For our live segment, revenues amounted to EUR 438 million for the quarter, corresponding to 18% year-on-year growth. RNG revenues landed at EUR 70.3 million, corresponding to a growth of 1.5% year-on-year.
We continue to make incremental improvements to our RNG business, adding new games as well as new functionality to OSS. During the quarter, we have already mentioned, as already mentioned, we are affected by the large first-time payout. Even though this short-term effect results, it's important to remember that payouts like this also increase demand for the game, paving the way for more players in the future. That said, most regions are showing a bit of slower development in the quarter. Nothing outside the usual cycles within the sector, but like I said, the results from the regions are not quite where we would like to see them. Overall, I'm pleased with the progress we have made in several of our initiatives throughout the quarter.
As I have started many times before, if we need to choose between margins and increased market share, we will always opt for top-line growth and market share. I look forward to the rest of the year. We have a fantastic game release coming up, and we continue to enjoy strong market momentum, and we are well positioned to deliver a strong second half of this year. Next slide, please. Last night, we entered into an agreement to acquire Galaxy Gaming. Galaxy is a premier provider of table games and side bets, both for online as well as land-based casinos. Games like 21+3 , Lucky Ladies, and Perfect Pairs are all in their catalog. We have known the company for many years and are already today licensing games from Galaxy as other main online B2B providers do as well.
They have an experienced and well-skilled, very skilled team in place, mainly based out of Las Vegas, and our intention is for Galaxy to continue to operate as an independent company and business, also under Evolution's ownership. By joining the two companies, we accelerate and solidify our presence in the U.S. market, where Galaxy is licensed in 28 out of 29 possible states. On top of that, Galaxy hold a number of tribal licenses. Through Galaxy, we gain a relationship with regulators and regulated states that are not yet open for online, and fast-track all future licensing at the same time as Evolution as a group will have two independent subgroup license. Galaxy holds over 130 licenses worldwide. Galaxy will further strengthen our game portfolio and secure access to fantastic titles our players are accustomed to already today.
There are also games in the portfolio where we see an opportunity to create new online games. I see the acquisition of Galaxy as an important step in creating foundation for future growth in the North America market, but also in other parts of the world, where we now, without direct costs, can expand their already existing brands further. Our cash offer values Galaxy to an enterprise value of EUR 124 million. The offer is supported by the board of directors of Galaxy, naturally subject to closing conditions. We expect the transaction to close in about 12-15 months. Again, very excited about this combination. Look forward to it. Next slide, please.
I'm pleased to say that the challenges we experienced in 2023 in terms of recruitment and table capacity have been addressed, and our recruitment pace remains high in the quarter. We've added 700 new Evolutionaires from Q2 last year, constituting a period of a very rapid expansion. I would like to remind all of you that expansion and recruitment comes together with cost, and time-wise, cost before revenues. We continue to make great progress in our studio development and all according to plan. Next slide, please. The Game Round Index shows the development of the whole Evolution network and includes all games. It can be seen as a general indicator of activity in our network. I'm very pleased to see that activity increased during the quarter, maintaining the healthy pace presented in the first quarter.
Increased activity could not have taken place without all efforts and increase of table capacity, as well as ensuring high delivery out of our studios. The Game Round Index does not always correspond to revenue, which we see in this quarter, where the game rounds grow faster than revenues. Also, larger wins on a game get publicity and often attracts many players, however, with smaller bets. For the long term, this trend is very positive. The fact that the players are curious and wish to test our games will bear fruit further down the line, even though it does not always drive revenue in the short term. Next slide, please. We're now in month 6 into what we call the product lead years of 2024 and 2025.
Our ambition is just as high as always, striving toward bringing unique player experiences and lift excitement to new levels. Let me first mention a few of the games that we have been launched in the quarter, or about to be launched. We already mentioned Lightning Storm in Q1, as it was planned for release by the end of Q1, in first half. The Lightning franchise is one of the strongest brands of our portfolio, and Lightning Storm is our most ambitious game show ever, and the newest, most thrilling, and extravagant member of our Lightning family. Lightning Storm masterfully combines instant payouts, bonus games, infused with experimental twists, and sizable multipliers to deliver unique gaming journeys. And although very slightly delayed, we will settle for nothing but perfection for this game, as it's one of the biggest releases to date.
This game is truly spectacular, and I dare promise it is something that the market has never seen before. To further our Lightning family, we have added two new installments, adding Lightning versions to our popular games, Dragon Tiger and Sic Bo. Lightning Dragon Tiger is a classic Asian card game with striking multipliers, set in a sophisticated studio, and features dramatic effects, thrills, and suspense. Lightning Sic Bo adds an extra excitement to the traditional dice game, well known by players. Another thrilling game that we have already released is the latest generation online live slot game combination game show features with a simple and easy to play slot game.
Balloon Race was very well received by end user, and with its unique combination of different player experience, it also attracts many new players, and it's part of a whole new type of genre, appealing to even more people. It's a combination of live and slots, which we have been talking about for quite some time. On the RNG side, we have released 26 titles in the quarter, all very good games with the true-defined trademark of quality and innovation of all four individual RNG brands, Nolimit City, Red Tiger, NetEnt, and Big Time Gaming. We are game changers and game creators. Through our innovation, not only do we offer unique player experience and state-of-the-art game, but we're also transforming an industry. With our RNG and investments in studios, and mentality of never settling, we constantly defend and expand our market-leading position.
I'm very happy with the outcome of the game roadmap 2024. Next slide, please. While looking at our product, it's a truly global audience with a global and ever-increasing demand. All our regions are growing year-on-year. Europe had a steady growth trend, around 10% the last year or so, and continues that way, coming in at 9% growth compared to Q2 last year. Demand in the region remains high, and with additional studio capacity added in 2024, we see good potential of expanding it even further. Asia is still our fastest-growing market, and for the quarter, quarter growth of 22% year-on-year, it's a small increase from the previous quarter than in Q1. However, Q1 was a relatively big step from Q4, and quarterly variation are to be expected.
Given the size, population, and underlying size of the market, we consider the region with great potential. In North America, we continue to make steady progress with the growth of 8% year-on-year. Our live offering is growing in line with the overall market. However, we are losing market shares in RNG offering compared to last year. I believe that we are improving our RNG offering. In the quarter, we started introducing our Nolimit City lineup, and we have made a number of improvements to our organization that I expect to bear fruit later in the year. LatAm is reporting healthy growth for the quarter, coming in at 70%, even as Brazil continues to be a bit of in the waiting room, as regulation is still pending.
Other region, consisting mainly of Africa, has a nice increase in the quarter. Again, the revenue can be lumpy, as I've seen in the table. Last year, we were flat for a few quarters before growing nicely these past two quarters. The share of revenue from regulated markets continued to be stable at just under 40%. With that, I will hand over to Jacob for a closer look at our financials. Please, next slide.
Thank you, Martin, and good morning to all of you listening. Revenue in the second quarter of this year amounts to EUR 508.4 million, for a growth rate of 15.3% compared to the same quarter, 2023. Revenue in the quarter is made up of EUR 438 million from our live casino games, and EUR 70.3 million from the RNG games. In the comparison to Q2 2023, there's a negative effect from changes in currency rates estimated to about 3.5%. Live casino revenue in the quarter of EUR 438.1 million gives us a growth rate of almost 18% year on year. Compared to the previous quarter, Q1 2024, the increase is about EUR 7 million.
Increase of revenue from one quarter to the next can vary a bit. We saw a big step up in live revenue in Q1 compared to Q4, as Martin mentioned, but Q1 to Q2 is a smaller increase compared to trend. As earlier mentioned, we are negatively affected in Q2 by large wins on some of the games. Also, sports book margins in some regions have favored operators in this quarter, which tend to be negative for casino. So there are some factors to point at, but there are also things within our control where we can improve and simply perform better. Overall, activity levels and player numbers have been good in the network.
There are some great product launches coming up, as you saw, so we feel good about the rest of the year, but Q2 does come in a little lower on live casino revenue than at least what I expected three months ago. RNG revenue amounts to EUR 70.3 million. That's 1.5% growth year-on-year, and also a slight increase from the previous quarter. We continue to have a good release tempo for games, and we'll gradually during the year add more functionality to OSS, like Livespins, Spin Gifts, and also our AI Slot Recommender. I'm pleased to see the trend of incremental improvement on revenue from the previous quarter continuing within RNG, even though it's not by big steps.
While it will not always be a straight line development quarter to quarter, we can do more in the RNG vertical going forward. EBITDA in the quarter totals EUR 345.8 million for an EBITDA margin of 68%. As mentioned already at the end of 2023, we are in a period of heavy expansion during this first half of the year, and that has an effect on margin. For the first six months of the year, margin is 68.5%, and for the full year, we maintain our guidance of EBITDA margin in the range of 69%-71%. I'll move on to the next slide. This has a closer look at our profit and loss statement. We'll start with revenue.
The three-month period, April to June, live and RNG revenues increased 18% and 1.5% there respectively, compared to the same period, 2023. Fully organic growth in both of those verticals. A little bit further to the right in the table, we compare the first half of 2024 to the first half of 2023, and growth for the six-month period is almost 19% for live casino and just over 1% for RNG. We just covered comments on revenue development in the most recent quarter on the previous slide, so I'll continue down to expenses. Personnel expenses amount to EUR 111.4 million in the first quarter, an increase of 27% compared to the same period last year.
We have added almost 4,000 headcounts since Q2 last year, so it's quite a big expansion for us. This increases personnel costs, but also affects other functions in the company with increasing costs. We will continue to increase staff during the rest of the year as we open new studios in Latin America and expand also elsewhere. Depreciations amount to EUR 34.6 million. That includes EUR 11.5 million in amortization of intangibles related to acquisitions made. It's relatively flat compared to the previous quarter this year, and up 15% compared to the same period, 2023. The next line, other operating expenses. This includes a number of items such as consumable equipment, communication costs, consultants, royalty fees, all included there. Line amounts to EUR 51.2 million in the quarter.
This is a line item that is a bit lumpy. It's up 2.3 per 2.3 million, I should say, from Q1 this year, and up 9.3 million, or 22%, compared to the same period, 2023. Summing up, total operating expenses total EUR 197.3 million for the period. That's an increase of 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Operating profit sums up to EUR 311 million in the quarter, and moving down, financial items, EUR 6.8 million. This includes interest rate income and the revaluation of bank balances, but there's also a charge for the IFRS 16 lease cost that's included there. Tax in the quarter is at EUR 48.8 million.
That is a tax rate of 15.3%. As we've previously communicated, our tax rate increases 2024 as the Pillar Two regime comes into effect. Still not fully clear exactly how the Pillar Two top-up tax will be handled. We continue to follow the development during the year and the accrued tax to, to our best knowledge. We will work to achieve a tax efficient structure of our operations as long as that makes business sense. I'll move on to the next slide, for a look at cash flow and financial position. Starting from the left, we have capital expenditure. As mentioned a few times, we are in a heavy expansion phase this year, and that's reflected also here in our CapEx level, which is up compared to last year.
We've estimated EUR 120 million in CapEx this year, and for the first half of the year, we're slightly ahead of that pace. In Q2, CapEx in tangible assets, that's the gray part of the bar in the chart to the left, totals EUR 16.1 million. It includes both expansion in existing studios as well as several new projects, new studio projects, that are coming up. The blue part of the bar represents investment in intangible assets. That's development of new games and features on the platform. CapEx in intangible assets total EUR 16.4 million in the quarter. So total CapEx in the quarter, EUR 32.5 million, and for the first six months, EUR 69 million. So slightly ahead of the pace.
The estimate of EUR 120 million for the full year, I would say, still looks like a good estimate for me. Moving on to the chart in the middle of the slide, this shows cash flow in the period with the operating cash flow of investment of EUR 280 million euro. The cash conversion, operating cash flow in relation to EBITDA, is on a very good level, well over 80% for the rolling 12-month period. The last time we spoke last quarter, we mentioned an increase in accounts receivable in that quarter. That is down to normal levels in this quarter, and the overall cash flow is very strong. Moving on to the right-hand side of the slide, that's a summary of our balance sheet at the end of the period.
We remain in a strong debt-free financial position. At the end of the period, cash balance was EUR 689 million. During the quarter, we have paid a dividend for 2023, amounting to EUR 564 million. I'll go to the next slide, and then I'll comment on the capital allocation framework that's been communicated and also the buyback that's been initiated. So as Martin mentioned at the top, the board has communicated a capital allocation framework. The framework clarifies our thinking around capital allocation without boxing in the board to act programmatically without consideration of the company's long-term strategic objectives. In summary, the framework is the following. We aim to be in a net cash position over time.
Still, we reserve an ability to use short-term leverage for unique opportunities that would add shareholder value to shareholders. The number one use of capital will be to invest in our organic growth, studio, staff, games, development. We have a highly profitable business in a market-leading position with a world-class product in an industry with secular growth trends. To continue that development will be the number one priority and the main use of capital. We have a dividend policy in place since the IPO in 2015. It states 50% payout on net profit, and that policy will remain. In addition, we continuously evaluate M&A opportunities that can support our long-term vision, but there's not a set amount of capital allocated to M&A, and possible M&A should be on value-enhancing terms.
Without the right opportunities, there will be no M&A, and that's perfectly fine also. Last, historically, we've had free cash flow remaining after the items I just described, and the new framework states that 100% of this excess cash will be returned to shareholders. Generally, this will be through a repurchase of shares, or if the more value enhancing, it can also be through an extra dividend. So that's a quick summary of the framework. It's very much in line with our actions in the past. Still, I think it adds clarity to how we plan to allocate capital going forward. As the graph to the right in the slide shows, capital returns to shareholders have been substantial during the past 10 years.
In fact, the returns through dividend and buybacks have been consistent, and they total well over 10 times the IPO value. With this capital allocation framework as a backdrop, the board has also decided to initiate a buyback of EUR 400 million, also announced today. All right, that was the end of my prepared comments. I'll hand back to you, Martin, for some closing words.
Thank you, Jacob. Thank you. Last slide before questions, and a few closing words from me. We are in a period of heavy expansion and investment right now. Expansion in our studio operations, expansion in our games portfolio, expansion in new markets like Philippines, Czech Republic, and Brazil. It's a very exciting time. To be able to push this growth agenda while at the same time distributing significant capital back to owners, is a sign of the strength of our business and market position. It's a sign of the strength of Evolution. As those of you who have followed us for some time know, we are always excited about our product roadmap and the next game. We have been working on Lightning Storm for a long time, and I dare say it's some of our best work yet.
Building on so many things that we have learned from previous games, I very much look forward to bring it to players in the coming month. In terms of new live games, there is more to come later in the year, and also on the RNG, exciting things lie ahead. At the same time, the roadmap for 2025 is taking shape, and that looks amazing, with an ambition level higher than ever. I really look forward to the rest of 2024, and I can't wait to start 2025. With that, we open up for questions.
If you wish to ask a question, please dial pound key five on your telephone keypad to enter the queue. If you wish to withdraw your question, please dial pound key six on your telephone keypad. The next question comes from Oscar Rönnqvist from ABG Sundal Collier. Please go ahead.
Thank you. Good morning, Martin and Jacob.
Good morning.
Thanks for taking my question. So, first, just on the top line, so a little bit of lower growth than I expected, and I think consensus as well. At least according to my numbers, Asia was the slow part in the quarter. So, if you could just talk us through a little bit what happened, or if it was, like, completely in line with your expectations, the 1% sequential growth. You have high activity in baccarat, good sequential game round growth. And also on the H2 outlook, you sound a little bit optimistic. Do you expect an acceleration from there? Have you any indications from the start of Q3, and does this have anything to this Georgia Studio impact to do? Thanks.
That's a little bit of a quite big question, but I would say it like this: I mean, high activity in the quarter, we're pushing forward, expanding. I'm really happy with the outcome of that. We think that we could have delivered more when it comes to revenue. Exactly the reasons behind that, there is a multitude of that. The market is what it is, but I think that we could have done a little bit better. Yeah, we look forward to the rest of the year. Actually, for all regions, there is exciting times. I think that we look forward to being in a little bit better place in all places, in all the regions.
... Thank you. And the Georgia studio, disruption impact, does this have anything to do on the revenue side, in your view?
No, that happened. First of all, it's not material in any way. I can take the opportunity to just mention that it, when the strike started, as you referred to in Georgia, it was stated that it was 5,000 employees going on strike. That's completely a lie. It was 500, so it's and it's not material in any way. And it's still not affecting us materially, and it happened after the quarter.
Perfect. Thank you. And then just wanted to get a sense of the Galaxy Gaming. If you could elaborate a little bit on the licensing potential synergies there. You talked about fast-tracking licensing, so how are you going to sort of utilize or exploit the potential synergies in Galaxy, or should we just see this as a financial bolt-on? Thanks.
We have had a relationship for many years with the Galaxy. They are supplying to us, and they're also supplying to others. And it's a very good acquisition where we can use these games and side bets that they have, and we can expand that out a little bit to other markets. That's positive. On top of that, they have a hundred jurisdiction licenses total in the world, but they are currently licensed in 28 out of 29 states, where the last state is in progress. So we get a relationship, and we come into land-based, and we get licenses in all states, which is sort of fast-tracking when those states go into online, and we already have a relationship with the regulators.
That's also positive.
Perfect. Thank you. Last one, maybe to, to Jacob. Just on, on the buybacks going forward, do you have any sort of sense of what's the sufficient cash position that you need to have or want to have, we should, when you should model the buybacks going forward?
There's not a set number, but like I said, this new framework is very much in line with how we've acted in the past. As you see, we've not built the, you know, multi-billion euro cash position. So, I think that gives you some idea going forward, but there's not a set number to put in that.
Got it. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
The next question comes from Martin Arnell, from DNB Markets. Please go ahead.
Hi, guys. This is Martin here. My first question is on the, you mentioned the sports margins here. I think this is interesting. How much did that impact? Was it more than usual when it's volatility? And also, did that have anything to do with your performance of Lightning Storm?
I said, no, it's no relation to Lightning Storm, and it's, of course, one that's hard to quantify. I wouldn't sort of put too much into it. It's just, like we said, I mean, there are some outside factors that we can point to that might be a little bit sort of against us in this quarter, but there's also things that we could do. And like Martin said, I think we would have liked to, you know, a little bit more was also our expectations. So I wouldn't sort of blame it all on the sports margins. That's the wrong conclusion.
And based on your comments-
On some level.
Yeah. Okay, and based on your comments on pipeline and factors in Q2, you know, could you confirm that you expect higher growth in the next quarter and or at least stabilizing? And also, can you comment on the U.S. market? You know, what are you doing to improve there? I guess that you were expecting higher growth than you are now, like, three months ago.
We don't guide on the quarters. So we don't do that, but we maintain our margin guidance, and we look forward to the rest of the year. There's a lot of things that we're doing when it comes to U.S. We are launching new games. We added the new fantastic games for Live, as you know, and launched those ones. We added the right stuff in the right states. So we are in a moving situation there and doing a lot of things that we expect to have, as I wrote, an effect later in the year.
Do you expect the effects from that to be seen already in Q3?
I don't want to quantify on what happens quarter by quarter. I will stay on that. It will have an effect during this year, yes.
Okay, fine. My final question on capital allocation, basically, you're talking about, you know, distributing all of your free cash flow here, excluding bolt-ons. But you also want to have a net cash. So the question is, sort of how would you define excess cash here, or, or the board? Can you talk a little bit about that, Jacob, perhaps?
Net cash position is a little bit fluid. That as we grow, that the demand for that might increase as we need to do investment another. But for us, the capital allocation policy is more framing up what we have already done. We have shifted out 10 times the IPO value during the last period, and we have not had a lot of cash resting in the company. Over time, it's always coming out, and right now, you can see the capital allocation policy to frame that up a bit. And also then giving a little bit stringency to the timeframe of that shifting out. And then on top of that, you see that we are repurchasing shares for EUR 400 million according to that policy. Okay. Thank you, guys. Thank you.
Thanks, Martin.
The next question comes from Ed Young from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
Good morning. Thank you for taking my questions.
Good morning.
Morning. My first question was on the Crazy Time payout that you mentioned in your written remarks. Martin, you've always been very reticent to talk about this too much, but it obviously was a big number. Could you help us understand how we should think about that payout, particularly in terms of were Crazy Time or game shows payout to players, was that above normal levels during the quarter? Or can you perhaps sort of talk a little bit about how you think about the way players typically recycle winnings? Thanks.
A payout of EUR 35 million during one single game round is the largest one ever in online casino, and the statistical chance of that happening is, of course, quite low. So that's, that affects the quarter. And once earlier, don't remember exactly when, we had a payout of EUR 25 million, and I think that we mentioned that as well at that time. So this is the-- it will happen more and more as we grow, but it's, it affects us. Exactly the effects of it, it's very hard to judge because it drives also revenue through to new gaming and so on. But it's substantial. Not substantial. It's a large payout.
Okay. Then, secondly, on North America, the growth is the most of your regions, and it's below market growth rates. Can you help us understand why there's that gap between the market growth rate and where Evolution is growing? Do you expect them to converge over time? Do you expect to outgrow the market over time? What is it you need to do in the middle there to do that?
We came in, we were strong on slots because early moved by NetEnt, and we acquired them. So we have a strong position in slots from the beginning. Live is doing great. We're doing good there. We're growing, maybe even. We're doing good in live, but we are losing market shares in slots. As the number of actors are increasing quite significantly and new games are coming, it's been hard to defend that position. So that's the whole story. And now we are launching more games, and we continue to see our share of live is increasing in United States, and we are optimistic about the future, but that's the story.
Okay. So should we expect North America growth to improve as RNG mixes down over time? Is that a fair assumption?
The statement I do is that we have had a really intense quarter. We're doing a lot of good things, and operations, you see good out there. And we are not satisfied with the growth as we see it right now, so-
Okay. Okay, thank you.
Thank you.
The next question comes from Monique Pollard from Citi. Please go ahead.
Hi. Morning, everyone. Thank you for taking my questions.
Morning.
The first question I had, morning. The first question I had was just on the Galaxy Gaming acquisition. I understand that you're going to keep the entity, you know, running really quite separately, but just trying to understand if there's any risk to some of the external revenues reducing from your competitors, like Playtech, Pragmatic Play, et cetera, who use Galaxy Gaming at the moment.
I would compare that situation with the fact that when we bought Big Time Gaming, we had Megaways inside that, and we sell that and resell that and get substantial part from other B2B providers. So they buy Megaways from us, and we have never seen a risk in that. And now we are creating the same situation with Galaxy, where we are actually supplying, so we will be both competitor and supplying, and I do not see a risk in that.
Okay, understood. Okay. Then the second question I had, probably one to Jacob, you mentioned obviously that the other OpEx line can be lumpy. Obviously, we saw that material step up in that other OpEx in the quarter. I'm just trying to understand, you know, what you'd call out in this quarter that led to that rise. Is it things like the studios in Czech Republic and Colombia, or is there anything else specifically to call out there?
There's nothing to call out, but of course, when activity level is high, and like you say, studio build projects contribute, that also... It doesn't only affect personnel cost. I mean, that drives also costs on other lines. So it's on some level, you say, connected to the high activity level, but there's no one item to call out.
Okay, perfect. And then, are you giving an exact date for the launch of Lightning Storm? I know you said, you know, you've pushed it slightly back, and it's going to be this quarter, but do you have a sort of launch date, or is that not something you're sharing?
Lightning Storm is already launched, so-
Okay.
It was released. Yeah, a couple of days back, two and a half days back. So, instead of coming just in the end of the first half, it came in just the beginning of the second half. So, it's already released.
All right. Perfect. Thank you. That's all my questions.
Thank you very much.
The next question comes from Alistair Johnson from BNP Paribas. Please go ahead.
Morning, guys. Thanks for taking the questions.
Good morning.
Just firstly, on the Galaxy Gaming acquisition, you said, you know, that it should fast track your licensing in new U.S. states. I was wondering kind of how you could say that with such certainty, and also whether the fact that you were sort of running it as a separate entity relates to concerns that the Evolution parent company would struggle to get licensed in new or potentially even existing U.S. states in the future?
The first answer is that we will build a relation where we get licensed during this closing period with all 28 states. So we will have a—we go through all of these things in that separate entity and then in that structure, and of course, learn from that and understand what to do and what's—how it's addressed. So in that way, we fast track and help us later when the state is online regulating. Then, of course, we could, we have an optionality then to, in a later state, to where to place a live product or something like that, because we would have two different setup of licenses.
Thank you. And then secondly, a technical one. When you play slots at an operator, you stay on the website of the operator, but when you play an Evolution Live Casino game, I think you're transferred to the Evolution lobby and relocated to a different IP address. Does that mean that effectively you're now on a server controlled by Evolution?
Ooh, that's a technical question. The connection to the video feed that you will get and the game feed that you will get will arrive from our servers to you. So in that sense, you're connected to those. And then you're at the same time connected to the operator that you're playing on because you have your wallet and all your money is connected to that. So there's a sort of three-party agreement there. That's more or less exactly the same situation on slots.
Okay. Very helpful. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
The next question comes from James Rowland Clark from Barclays. Please go ahead.
Hi. Morning,
Morning.
Thank you. Morning, morning. Three questions, please. You mentioned earlier the slightly higher than normal payouts on Crazy Time, EUR 35 million. I appreciate that there's a recycling element there as well, but have you got a sense as to what the drag was on Q2 revenue growth from that? Second question is, in the statement you talk about regional development being a little bit slower than you expected. Could you just dive into what you are discussing or referring to there? Is that lower bet days or spend per capita? And yeah, any further color would be really, really helpful. And then finally, just on the FY guidance on the EBITDA margin, you've kept that unchanged at 69%-71%.
So the top end, if you were to hit it, it implies, you know, almost 73% or so. It's quite a wide range from the bottom end in the second half. So, can you just help us with the sort of bridging items that take you from the 68.5% EBITDA margin in H1 into the second half? Thank you.
I can start there with a couple, you can jump in, Martin. On the Crazy Time payout, it does affect, but it's hard to quantify exactly because like you say, I mean, the part can be recycled and so forth. So I don't have a you know one number to share. It does have an effect, but it's not the only thing affecting the quarter. Let's see, I'll pick your third one also, on the margin guidance. That remains, we haven't given any sort of guidance within that range. So you’re right. I mean, to reach the top end of the range, that's more of a distance than to sort of be in the range.
So, we've kept it at that, and, yeah, we'll see how we do in the second half of the year. Then there was one in the middle.
Yeah, the one in the middle is that, is there any, what can you say about the revenue? I would say that there is a portion of things that we can do better, and that I expect us to do better, and we will do a lot about those. And then there is a portion of things that happens that is that could be the Crazy Time or the sports book margin or something. That just is what it is. And then there is a situation on the market, and all of these comes together, and I think that we need to focus on the things that we can do better internally, and there are a couple of those.
We are in the middle of the changes in U.S., and we are working on those. So that's the situation. There's not... I can't point you to like, okay, it was this and that, and this, and this. It's like, that's the combined situation.
Okay. Thank you. Sorry, just coming back on the margin, the sort of bridging the margin from H1 to H2. Is it really purely that the revenue growth comes through in the second half and the operational leverage on that will help you get the margin into the guidance?
... One part, we remain on our 69- .01. One part of that is, of course, earning more money, and one part of that is to control the cost. Right now, we're coming out on the expansion phase. We have been expanding a lot, and now we hope to be on that level where we are right now and see better situation in the second half, which we stated already in Q4 2023.
Okay. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
The next question comes from Mattias Svensson from Keel Capital. Please go ahead.
Hi, and thank you for taking my question. I just want to-
Follow up on the earlier question regarding the Evo lobby and the connection that you have to the player on Live Casino. I guess that means that you have a full understanding who the operator is and where the client is located. And does that mean that you find it problematic that you have a revenue share on games being played in countries that might be sanctioned by the U.S., or on operators that might be controlled by persons that are sanctioned by the U.S. and the U.K.?
That's the question that you're asking. We have answered many, many times, but we have a relation with the operator, and the operator have a relation with the player, and we only work with licensed operators, and they have to be regulated by state or government. And when it comes to Asia or other, they have to be regulated in Europe. We do not take any money, and we do not have a control where the player is. The only connection we have is that they have an IP number. An IP number is an average information about that. The full KYC responsibility and where the player is placed and taking the money from the player resides with the operator. So that's how we look at it.
Second, the core part of your question around sanctions. The sanctions, the countries that are on restricted sanctions, they are blocked in our systems.
Okay.
So-
IP, IP number.
Yeah, of course.
Okay. Thank you.
Yeah. Thank you.
As a reminder, if you wish to ask a question, please dial pound key five on your telephone keypad. The next question comes from Raymond Kow from Nordea. Please go ahead.
Good morning, Martin and Jacob. A couple of questions from me. So you've added a lot of employees, and you will continue to add people. At the same time, game shows are growing to representing an increasingly larger share of your sales. How do you expect this to sort of impact your sales per employee or ability to scale looking ahead?
It's very hard to calculate the revenue per table, revenue per employee, or sales per employee. But when we entered into U.S., the comment was from me that we don't see United States as a market that will negatively affect the margin. But that includes also that we see an incremental margin and a good scalability in other parts, and it comes together in a total great way. We continue to look at it like that, so we will add tables, and some things are a little bit more expensive, and that will be offset with the scalable products such as game shows or other, and it comes together to the margin guidance that we have.
Got it. Sort of related, but you track the game rounds index, and when this increases sort of at a faster pace than the cost of your operations, I mean, should this translate over time to better scalability in your view?
Yes is the answer. The easy answer is yes. It's positive that we constantly grow great game rounds, and in the end of the day, that transfers to revenue. But then, of course, we have to remember that some markets, if we take Brazil as an example, has a higher—a lower GDP than, for example, Sweden. So there will be lower bets from there. So there might be a deviation from time to time, but as long as it's increasing more than revenue, eventually it will be transferred to revenue. Yes.
Got it. Then, regarding Spin Gifts, could you just explain a bit how this is sort of implemented? Like, will you implement it across all your slot games, or can players use Spin Gifts for slot games and then use them on maybe another game and maybe even a live casino game, or how are these-
That's a very good question. It's a good question. The remark I do when I say that there is a lot of good things coming when it comes to slots and that we also complement it with the WhatsApp functionality, that is exactly this area. And we will, of course, develop Spin Gifts in the future to come. And it's a controlled way of giving bonus back to the operator, not the player, but to the operator. So we will sort of finance the bonus instead of in an uncontrolled way. It's very positive. Yes.
Okay, perfect. Thanks. That's all for me.
Thank you very much.
There are no more questions at this time, so I hand the conference back to the speakers for any closing comments. Please go ahead.
Thank you very much for listening. Pleasure to talk to you. Pleasure to have all the questions. Look forward to see you soon again. Have a nice summer. Bye.
Bye-bye.