Online gambling technology suppliers Evolution and NetEnt are both living their best lives as earnings soar ahead of the companies’ proposed merger.  

Figures released Thursday by the Stockholm-listed Evolution (formerly Evolution Gaming, until a corporate rebrand dumped the ‘Gaming’ earlier this month) show the company generated revenue of €140m in the three months ending September 30, up 48% from Q3 2019. Earnings rose 87% to €90.7m while profit doubled to €79.4m.

Evolution CEO Martin Carlesund hailed Q3 as “a period of exceptionally high activity” thanks to the pandemic suspension of major sports creating a boost in online casino activity across the globe. Evolution customers reported their players making 12.9b individual bets in Q3, up from just 5.8b in Q3 2019.

The pandemic did result in limits on Evolution’s live casino studio operations but this also kept expenses down and the company is “slowly coming back towards pre-COVID levels in number of tables.” Since the quarter ended, Evolution has launched its first live tables in Pennsylvania and a new “medium sized” studio in Kaunas, Lithuania.