Share 
A large potential payout does not guarantee a live casino game will hold players’ interest. Evolution’s product chief says complicated features and long losing stretches have contributed to some titles falling short of expectations.
Todd Haushalter assessed those problems in a Nov. 2 article reviewing Evolution’s games. The company did not publish audience or revenue data alongside his observations.
In Michigan, Evolution operates studios supplying online casinos with blackjack, roulette, and other live dealer games. Its Grand Rapids facility opened in May, becoming the company’s second studio serving the state.
Gold Bar Roulette added decisions between spins
Gold Bar Roulette, launched in 2022, allowed players to earn multipliers and keep them between rounds. A winning bet on an individual number could award a Gold Bar, which the player could save for a later spin of live roulette.
Players could place saved Gold Bars on chosen numbers or stack several on one number for a larger possible payout. Receiving that payout still depended on the ball stopping on the number carrying the multiplier.
Haushalter said Evolution had expected Gold Bar Roulette and Lightning Blackjack to be straightforward, but players found them more complicated than anticipated.
Gold Vault Roulette replaced Gold Bar Roulette and assigned multipliers automatically each round. Players no longer had to save bars or choose where to place them. Haushalter said the redesign worked better.
Too many cards made Mega Ball harder to follow
In Mega Ball, players buy bingo-style cards and watch as drawn numbers are marked on them. Completing a line produces a win on that card. Haushalter said the number of cards a player could buy made it difficult to follow the draw and see which ones were close to winning.
Haushalter described Mega Ball’s traction as modest but stopped short of calling it a flop. For MONOPOLY Big Baller, Evolution capped the main game at four cards per player. He said the limit helped players follow the draw and recognize when a card was nearing a winning line.
A bonus round failed to revive Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt
Released in 2021, Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt brought the character from NetEnt’s Gonzo’s Quest slot into a live game show. Its central display was a wall containing 70 stones with prizes hidden behind them.
The game used augmented reality to show an animated Gonzo alongside the live host. Players could also choose a virtual reality mode that used a headset and controller.
Haushalter said the technology may have been more advanced than players wanted. He also thought the large wall discouraged them. Evolution initially suspected the game needed a bonus round, but he said adding one did little to improve interest in the game.
A later reworking, Gonzo’s Treasure Map, also fell short of the company’s expectations.
Long losing stretches can drive players away
Haushalter said a game can attract an early audience through its theme, presentation, or bonus features, then lose players as they spend more time with it. In some cases, he attributed that decline to the way the game distributes its wins.
Two titles may pay out similar amounts overall without producing the same experience during an individual session. One might deliver steadier results, while another has longer losing stretches interrupted by occasional larger wins. An overall payout figure does not show when those wins will arrive for a particular player.
Players may lose interest and leave before experiencing the larger payout that initially attracted them.
