Evolution opens its seventh US studio — and again chooses Michigan

Evolution’s new Grand Rapids studio puts two live brands under one roof and deepens the company’s bet on Michigan as its main US growth market.

On May 14, Evolution opened a new live dealer studio in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is the company’s seventh studio in the US and its second in Michigan. Evolution’s first studio in the state was launched in Southfield in 2021 and now has around 1,000 employees.

The Grand Rapids facility runs two brands in parallel. Evolution delivers Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat, and later this year Ice Fishing and XXXtreme Lightning Roulette. Ezugi — the live studio Evolution acquired in 2018 — handles EZ Baccarat and Triple Zero Roulette. Ezugi relaunched in the US in October 2025, starting in New Jersey, with an explicit goal to become the second-largest live provider in the country.

What Blask data shows about Evolution’s live titles

Blask tracks 234 Evolution titles across 24 countries. The company’s distribution leaders are concentrated around live game-show and roulette formats, which remain among the most scalable live casino products in operator lobbies.

The distribution leaders are game-show and roulette formats. Crazy Time is Evolution’s most widely carried title, appearing in over 500 operator brand lobbies globally. 

The Grand Rapids studio brings Michigan operators into the same content mix that Evolution has scaled across regulated markets worldwide. The new facility adds local production capacity — which Michigan law requires for online casino play — rather than just extending distribution rights from another state.

Why Michigan matters

Evolution already has regulatory approval, a 1,000-person workforce in Southfield, and operator contracts in place across Michigan. Grand Rapids adds output capacity and studio redundancy without the cost and timeline of entering a new state.

Live dealer has specific infrastructure requirements: physical studios, trained presenters, state-level licensing, and dedicated production space. Michigan has a regulated online casino market and Evolution has been operating there since 2021. Adding a second hub means more simultaneous tables and separate production lines for Evolution and Ezugi content.

Ezugi, which Evolution acquired in 2018, returned to the US in October 2025 with a New Jersey launch — streaming from Evolution’s Atlantic City studio. At that announcement, Evolution confirmed the Michigan expansion was next, targeting the first half of 2026. Grand Rapids delivered on that schedule.

Playtech is building infrastructure on the same timeline

Playtech launched its first US live studios in December 2021 — two simultaneous openings in Michigan and New Jersey, partnering with Parx Interactive and bet365 respectively. In January 2026, Playtech and bet365 launched 10 dedicated tables across studios in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Playtech’s US revenue grew 71% year-on-year in 2025, and the company nearly doubled its live table count across Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania during that period.

Both suppliers are investing in studio capacity across multiple states rather than distributing content from a single hub. Studios mean local employment, state-level licensing, dedicated operator tables — infrastructure that content distribution alone cannot replicate. The race for live dealer in the US runs through concrete and dealer chairs as much as software.

Bottom line

Evolution’s Grand Rapids studio adds a second Michigan production hub, extends Ezugi’s US footprint beyond New Jersey, and brings high-profile launches — including Monopoly Live — to the state. Blask data shows that Evolution’s strongest live titles already have broad global distribution across hundreds of operator lobbies. The US studio build-out is how the company brings that product depth into regulated American markets, state by state.

Playtech is on the same timeline. Live dealer in the US is becoming an infrastructure competition — studios, dedicated tables, scalable production capacity.