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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. Its local partner's consumer casino licence was revoked in August 2025, news that broke in October, and Evolution said the studio was unaffected.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. Aug 2025

    PAGCOR revoked the B2C online casino licence of Evolution's studio partner, One Visaya Gaming Corp, over KYC violations; the news broke in October 2025.

  4. 5.9%

    Evolution shares fell by as much as 5.9% 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.

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 when news broke on 2 October 2025 that the Philippine regulator PAGCOR had revoked OVGC's B2C licence on 28 August over violations of know-your-customer (KYC) rules, with its BigWin29 platform to shut by 8 October. Evolution said: "The B2C and B2B licences are fully independent from each other and there is no issue with the studio." Its shares fell by as much as 5.9% in Stockholm that day.

Games Built for the Region

The Cebu studio is a base for content made for the Philippine market. Evolution said its Super Color Game was designed especially for players in the Philippines and due to launch from the studio later in 2025, and Pragmatic Play followed with its own colour-dice live game show, Color Game Bonanza, in August 2026.

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 revoked an operator's consumer licence in 2025 over KYC violations. 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.

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Key dates

  1. The news

    Cebu studio opens

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

  2. Done

    Partner loses B2C licence

    PAGCOR revokes One Visaya Gaming Corp's B2C online casino licence over KYC violations and orders its BigWin29 site shut by 8 October; the news breaks on 2 October.

  3. Done

    Pragmatic Play follows with Color Game Bonanza

    Pragmatic Play launches its own colour-dice live game show.

Evolution (June 2025), EGR (July 2025), NEXT.io and CasinoBeats (October 2025), Pragmatic Play announcement (August 2026)