Evolution

How to play Evolution

Beyond raising the age limit to 21, Van Dijk called for a complete reversal of the Netherlands’ 2021 online gambling legalisation, which helped establish a reasonably mature legal gambling market for the sector, until tighter restrictions for players, and increased taxes, struck licensed operators in recent years.

Van Dijk also voiced his opinion that all gambling advertising should be banned, including for lotteries and land-based casinos.

He also questioned the government’s involvement with the state-owned entities Holland Casino and Nederlandse Loterij, especially in its assessment on how to limit gambling harms.

What is Evolution?

Prediction markets aside, the absence of crypto on a federal level may have some drag on the regulated industry, especially in the iGaming and sports betting space.

Younger patrons are increasingly familiar with crypto, but the lack of regulatory adoption in the regulated space can push bettors to offshore or unlicensed platforms, most of which do accept it. At the ICE Barcelona conference in 2025, a panel of international sports betting CEOs lamented the fact that they were barred from adopting crypto, while their black-market competitors were not.

A report released in June by payment provider Paysafe said the percentage of online sports bettors who dabble in crypto is 64%, more than double the US average of 30%. Crypto deposits are only legal in two states, Wyoming and Colorado, but crypto withdrawals are not legal anywhere – 85% of respondents said they would welcome withdrawals as an option, Paysafe said.

About Evolution

“It’s not a dark alley,” he continues. “It’s a large operator that’s regulated in other places, so it’s not the risk for the player that sometimes is implied.”

With the central challenge of tax to compete with, operators face a test of whether they can maintain growth while remaining competitive in an increasingly fierce market.

Escobar expects the competitive landscape to evolve as the market settles, with operators facing a different set of priorities from those that defined Peru’s initial regulatory rollout.