Evoke, the owner of William Hill, 888, and Mr Green, has reported a 7% decline in revenue for the third quarter and is urging the government to refrain from further increases in gambling taxes during next week’s autumn budget. For the three months ending September 30, 2026, the company achieved a group revenue of £406 million. This figure, adjusted for the approximately 270 betting shops that have closed over the last year and at constant exchange rates, reflects a revenue drop of 2%. Early season football results, which benefited bettors, have also adversely affected revenue growth by one to two percentage points, leaving it relatively stable on an underlying basis.
Chief Executive Per Widerström emphasized the company's ongoing resilience, stating, "On an underlying basis, the business continues to show resilience and reflects our continued emphasis on profitability and cash generation following the substantial increases in gaming duties, particularly in the UK." He highlighted the closures as a significant consequence of rising industry taxation, appealing to the UK government to consider these impacts before implementing additional tax increases.
Notably, while last year’s budget saw an increase in online gaming taxes, the duties affecting betting shops remained unchanged. Evoke has indicated that the current closures aim to mitigate the financial ramifications of heightened online tax rates.
Regarding its future, Evoke confirmed that the acquisition by Bally’s Intralot is proceeding as planned. Shareholders from both entities have approved the transaction, with the majority of regulatory approvals already obtained. The completion date is anticipated late in the fourth quarter of 2026 or early in the first quarter of 2027. Widerström reiterated the company’s commitment to efficient operations leading up to the acquisition.
Shop closures originated from tax changes introduced in last November's budget. The remote gaming duty rate increased from 21% to 40% effective April 1, 2026, with a new 25% rate for remote betting set to take effect on April 1, 2027, while maintaining the 15% rate on remote bets for UK horse racing. Evoke projects these tax adjustments will raise its annual duty costs by approximately £125 million to £135 million, and the company plans to offset around half of this increase through various expense reductions, including shop closures.
Initially, prior to the budget announcement, Evoke had signaled potential closures of 120 to 200 William Hill shops, threatening around 1,500 jobs. In March, it informed employees of plans to permanently shutter about 200 UK shops, amounting to roughly 15% of its retail locations, with this figure increasing later on. In its 2025 results, the company confirmed around 270 closures, with pre-tax losses jumping to £549.1 million, up from £220.9 million in 2024. Though specific job loss numbers have not been disclosed, significant job cuts are expected to result from these store closures.
The impact of these changes extends beyond Evoke alone. Last week, executives from the six largest gambling companies in Britain reported that over 600 betting shops have closed and 10,250 jobs have been lost or are at risk since the 2025 budget. These leaders urged the chancellor to maintain the current machine games duty in the upcoming October 28 budget and to delay the April 2027 betting duty increase to evaluate the effects of previous tax hikes.
Evoke has been contemplating various options, including a potential sale, since December when tax increases impacted its medium-term forecasts. In June, Evoke reached an all-share agreement to be acquired by Bally’s Intralot, offering shareholders 0.537 new shares for each existing Evoke share, which values the company at approximately 52 pence per share or about £243.1 million.
The company’s substantial debt, resulting from a £2 billion acquisition of the non-US branch of William Hill from Caesars Entertainment in 2022, contributed to its need for a sale. As of the end of last year, Evoke held about £1.86 billion in debt. Intralot has arranged around £889 million in financing from TPG Credit, Oaktree, and OHA to support the acquisition and refinancing of Evoke’s debts.
Evoke was contacted for further comments following this announcement but opted not to provide additional information.
