One of the most recognisable and wealthy providers of casino games, Evolution Gaming, just acquired another gaming software provider – Nolimit City – for the staggering amount of $340 million.
We will tell you more about each company and about the deal itself, so you get a perspective on why it’s significant for the online gambling industry.
Nolimit City
Nolimit City is a company providing gaming software to online casinos. Nolimit City was founded by Jonas Tegman in Stockholm, Sweden on 1 January, 2014, but its staff has been working in the online gambling industry for a while, so they had the necessary experience and expertise to create an innovative and profitable company.
Nolimit City specialises in the creation of online slot machines, having never made another type of casino game (e.g., table games or live games). However, rather than pump new titles every year, the company chooses quality over quantity to deliver games with creative mechanics that are fun to play.
Nolimit City’s slot games instantly caught the attention of online casinos and players alike, with the company gradually expanding over the years. Nolimit City quickly mesmerised the European market and received licenses in its native Sweden, as well as in Malta, the United Kingdom, Italy, Lithuania, Denmark, Portugal, and Romania.
Not only that, but the company also received a warm welcome in the Asian gambling market. Now, it even has an office in Gurugram, India, bringing up the number of active offices to three (including offices in Sweden and Malta).
Nolimit City has two regulators, the Malta Gaming Authority and the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, which ensure the safety and legitimacy of the slots.
Evolution Gaming
Evolution Gaming Limited, or Evolution for short, was founded by Jens von Bahr (who remains the CEO of the company) in Riga, Latvia in 2006. Despite being founded in Riga, Evolution had a mostly Swedish staff, starting with its founder von Bahr. Evolution’s history is nothing short of a fantastic story of success.
Since its very inception, Evolution has strived to revolutionise online gambling by not only providing top-notch casino software, but by disrupting the status quo to give their customers the best and most immersive online gambling experience.
Undoubtedly, the biggest achievement of the company, and the reason for its following success, was the introduction of live dealer games. It’s important to note that Evolution didn’t invent the concept; various operators have tried to create such games in the past, but they simply lacked the necessary technology.
Evolution, on the other hand, offered reliable and safe software that could support live dealer games. The company continued to expand their live game titles, having released Live Blackjack, Live Baccarat, and various poker games in the span of 10 years.
In the following years since the introduction of live dealer games, Evolution has opened offices and studios in Sweden, Romania, Estonia, the Netherlands, Malta, Georgia, Belarus, Lithuania and counting. The game giant also expanded to North America (the US and Canada). Between 2013 and 2017, Evolution opened a new studio every year!
Evolution now serves over 500 online casinos and it continues to add new titles to its already long list of available games. The company’s net worth is $20.24 billion (as of June 2022), raking over $1 billion in profit every year.
Nolimit City – Evolution Deal
Nolimit City was formally acquired by Evolution Gaming on 22 June, 2022 for the sum of $340 million in cash, with $200 million being paid upfront. The deal was, paradoxically, both expected and not.
Nolimit City was profitable on its own, but it’s hard to say no to such a high amount. At the same time, Evolution have been buying successful software companies for some time; Evolution acquired the slot-giant NetEnt for $2.1 billion in 2020, followed by Big Time Gaming for €220 million in 2021.
Thus, it didn’t exactly come as surprise when Evolution shared its plans to buy Nolimit city. Evolution stays true to its promise of becoming the biggest provider of casino software in the world and the fastest way to achieve that goal is by acquiring other software providers with impressive resumes.
Jens von Bahr (Evolution’s founder and CEO) and Jonas Tegman (founder of Nolimit City) stated that the acquisition would positively impact both companies. The two founders spoke of the shared goal of innovation and reliability, which drives their companies forward.
Von Bahr was impressed with Nolimit City’s slot mechanics, while Tegman noted that Evolution was the perfect match for his company and that together they could reach new milestones in the online slot industry. For now, Nolimit City is expected to keep its staff and offices, because Evolution truly respects the company’s work ethic and genius.
The acquisition is finalised on paper, but it’s pending regulatory reviews.