Evolution's Todd Haushalter on lawsuits, deepfake dealers and the game roadmap

Evolution Chief Product Officer Todd Haushalter sits down for a long NEXT.io Podcast interview. He covers the Playtech lawsuit, why he expects AI "deepfake" live dealers to fail, the share buyback, prediction markets and a 2026 game roadmap that includes Hasbro titles.

In this episode

• After the hosts recap how Playtech was revealed to be behind the dossier, he says Evolution is "absolutely suing", though he is chief product officer, "not chief legal officer" (10:57).

• He calls AI deepfake live dealers "a catastrophic failure" in the making: once labelling laws require saying it is AI, "it's dead on arrival" (20:37).

• He argues going from 5,000 to 20,000 slot releases a year would just mean more companies go out of business, since there are perhaps 15 great slot minds (26:32).

• On the buyback, the board makes these calls, but he loves it as "a huge bet on ourselves" (1:14:55).

• On prediction markets, "right now, we don't" fit, as it is 95% sports betting; Evolution would like to partner once there is a clear legal framework (1:29:40).

• He predicts the 2026 roadmap will generate the most GGR since the Crazy Time roadmap, with four marquee games including Monopoly Roulette, Disco Balls and Game Night (1:44:51).

Episode from the NEXT.io Podcast by NEXT.io, published on YouTube.