During its full-year 2025 earnings call on Monday, Bally’s Intralot CEO Robeson Reeves discussed potential acquisitions and outlined attractive assets in ongoing talks with Evoke. Recently, Evoke announced that Bally’s was contemplating an all-share merger valued at £0.50 per share. This follows Evoke's strategic review launched in December aimed at potentially selling part or all of its business, prompted by the UK government nearly doubling the Remote Gaming Duty this month.
Reeves expressed interest in Evoke’s extensive operations in Europe. He stated, “We see a compelling opportunity to bring our operating model to a significantly larger business and the potential to transform its financial performance through synergies we are uniquely positioned to deliver.” He emphasized this was a pursuit of conviction.
When asked about specific areas of interest within Evoke, Reeves highlighted Italy as “an appealing market, hard to get entry, and [Evoke is] scaled there.” He also mentioned Romania as “an attractive market” and noted Spain could enhance Bally’s small presence in that region.
Deutsche Bank analyst Richard Stuber noted in a January report that Evoke's Italian operations generate approximately £60 million in EBITDA annually, growing at mid-teens rates, with comparable assets trading at around 8x EBITDA. Evoke's international gaming revenue rose by 14% in the fourth quarter, with CEO Per Widerström stating that Italy and Denmark achieved record quarterly revenues.
Reeves acknowledged Bally’s current understanding of international markets is limited. He commented, “We don’t necessarily understand some of these other markets as well as I would like. So we’re being fortunate in the fact that you can look at M&A with a single lens on actually essentially applying your business model just to the UK market, and you can pick up other territories free.”
Regarding Evoke’s UK retail units, many of which face closure due to the strategic review, Reeves noted, “I think it’s important to have presence in retail. I think it’s a good business. It needs to work very much hand-in-hand with online.” He acknowledged the persistent challenges in the UK retail sector, including the impact of fixed-odds betting terminals and COVID-19 closures, compounded by the increase in RGD and betting duties, which have forced operators to eliminate underperforming assets. Similar actions have been taken by Entain and Flutter, who have recently scaled back parts of their retail operations.
Reeves also expressed confidence in the UK market's resilience despite the tax hike, indicating that Bally’s B2C net gaming revenue in the UK grew by 10.5% year-on-year in the first quarter. As of April, Bally’s recorded double-digit year-on-year growth for its B2C NGR, with stable player volumes and wagering activity. Currently, the UK constitutes 30% of Bally’s Intralot’s revenue, while the United States accounts for 43% and Europe 11%. Reeves stated, “Our product is competitive and our player base is growing. So active players are up 7% year-on-year.” He highlighted the consolidation opportunities arising from the high-tax environment, noting the ongoing evaluation of M&A opportunities.
Reeves remained cautious when discussing how an Evoke acquisition might influence Bally’s capital structure. He confirmed, “If we move ahead with Evoke we’re looking into a different capital structure moving forward.” The group reported a free cash flow of €93.4 million as of December. Meanwhile, CFO Andreas Chryso revealed that the adjusted net debt reached €1.493 billion as of December, up from €334.2 million the previous year.
