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Evolution Opens Its First Asian Live Casino Studio in Cebu, Philippines

Evolution opened its first studio in Asia in Cebu in mid-2025, with baccarat the first game to go live. In October 2025 its local partner lost its consumer casino licence, and Evolution said the studio was unaffected. Updated October 2026.

Opened mid-2025 Baccarat first Partner's B2C licence revoked October 2025
By Nathan Williams Published Updated 1 min read
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Key takeaways

  1. Cebu

    Evolution's first live casino studio in Asia is in Cebu, Philippines, and opened in mid-2025.

  2. Baccarat

    Baccarat was the first game type to go live from the studio, as part of Evolution's plan to deploy localised content by region.

  3. Oct 2025

    PAGCOR revoked the B2C online casino licence of Evolution's studio partner, One Visaya Gaming Corp, over failed KYC checks.

  4. 6%

    Evolution shares fell about 6% on the day the revocation was reported, although the company said the studio was not affected.

Evolution opens Cebu studio

Evolution opened its first live casino studio in Asia in Cebu, Philippines, in mid-2025. The studio is part of Evolution's plan to deploy localised content across different regions, and baccarat was the first game type to go live, which fits a region where baccarat is the main live table game.

The Partner and the Licence Scare

The studio was built with One Visaya Gaming Corp (OVGC), a Cebu City company that also ran its own consumer-facing online casino. Evolution supplies its games business to business, so the studio and OVGC's casino operated under separate licences.

That separation was tested in October 2025. The Philippine regulator PAGCOR revoked OVGC's B2C online casino licence after finding that it had failed to carry out required know-your-customer (KYC) checks, and ordered its BigWin29 platform shut by 8 October. Evolution said: "The B2C and B2B licenses are fully independent from each other and there is no issue with the studio." Its shares still fell about 6% on Nasdaq Stockholm on the day the news broke.

Games Built for the Region

The Cebu studio is a base for content made for the Philippine market. Evolution launched Super Color Game in May 2025, its adaptation of the Filipino color game played at local fairs, and Pragmatic Play followed with its own version, Color Game Bonanza, in August 2026. Two tier-one suppliers building on the same local format shows how much weight the region now carries in live casino.

Sources:

What it means for live casino players

  • Good for you
    Players in Asia

    Tables streamed from Cebu are built for the region, starting with baccarat, which can mean dealers, hours and limits that suit Asian time zones better than European studios.

  • What it means
    Studio licence vs casino licence

    The studio and its partner's own casino held separate licences. A table coming from a licensed studio tells you nothing about whether the site you play it on is licensed.

  • What it means
    Players in the Philippines

    PAGCOR showed in 2025 that it will shut an operator for failed identity checks. Use PAGCOR-licensed sites and expect KYC checks before your first withdrawal.

So what The Cebu studio gives Evolution a base for content made for Asian players. Which casino you play it at still decides how well you are protected.

Key dates

  1. Done

    Super Color Game launches

    Evolution's take on the Filipino perya color game.

  2. The news

    Cebu studio opens

    Evolution's first live casino studio in Asia, starting with baccarat.

  3. Done

    Partner loses B2C licence

    PAGCOR revokes One Visaya Gaming Corp's online casino licence over KYC failures and orders its BigWin29 site shut by 8 October.

  4. Done

    Pragmatic Play follows with Color Game Bonanza

    A second tier-one adaptation of the same Filipino format.

EGR (July 2025), Casino.org (October 2025), Pragmatic Play announcement (August 2026)