Evoke, the parent company of William Hill, 888, and Mr Green, announced a 7% decline in its third-quarter revenue, calling on the government to refrain from increasing gambling taxes again in the upcoming autumn budget.
For the quarter ending on September 30, 2026, the group reported revenue of £406 million. When excluding the approximately 270 betting shops that have shut down over the past year and factoring in constant exchange rates, revenue decreased by 2%. The company noted that favorable football results for punters at the start of the season dampened revenue growth by one to two percentage points, leaving underlying revenue relatively flat.
"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," stated Per Widerström, the chief executive officer.
He highlighted, "The closure of 270 shops over the past year shows the real impact on jobs and livelihoods from higher industry taxation, and we urge the UK government to carefully consider any further increases ahead of its forthcoming autumn budget."
Although raised taxes on betting shops were not implemented in the previous budget, duties on online gaming and betting were increased, while the machine games duty and shop betting duty were left unchanged. Evoke has attributed some of its shop closures to adjustments necessary to counterbalance the heightened online tax obligations.
In spite of its commitments to profitability, the company did not disclose any profit, earnings, or cash flow figures in this latest update.
Evoke also confirmed that its impending acquisition by Bally’s Intralot is progressing as planned. Shareholders from both companies have approved the transaction, and most regulatory approvals have already been secured, with the deal expected to finalize by late fourth quarter 2026 or early first quarter 2027. "We remain focused on disciplined execution and operational efficiency as we progress towards completion of the acquisition," Widerström said.
The decision to close shops can be traced back to tax changes enacted in last November’s budget. The remote gaming duty for online games of chance surged from 21% to 40%, effective April 1, 2026. Additionally, a new 25% rate for remote betting is scheduled to begin on April 1, 2027, with a reduced rate of 15% for remote bets on UK horse racing. Evoke projects that these changes will raise its duty costs by £125 million to £135 million annually once fully implemented, although the company hopes to mitigate about half of these costs through supplier savings, reduced marketing expenditures, closures, and operational cuts.
Prior to these tax adjustments, Evoke indicated that it might close between 120 and 200 William Hill shops, risking around 1,500 jobs. By March, the company communicated to staff its decision to permanently close roughly 200 UK shops, approximately 15% of its retail presence, beginning the shutdown process in May. The total number of closures later increased.
In its 2025 financial results, Evoke confirmed that approximately 270 shops were closed, with pre-tax losses escalating to £549.1 million, up from £220.9 million reported in 2024. Although the company has not specified the number of jobs at risk, significant job losses are expected with these closures.
The impact of these closures extends beyond Evoke. Last week, leaders from Britain’s six major gambling firms reported that over 600 betting shops have closed, resulting in 10,250 jobs lost or threatened since the 2025 budget. They urged the chancellor to maintain the current machine games duty rate in the upcoming budget on October 28, 2026, and to delay the planned betting duty increase until the results of existing duty hikes can be evaluated.
Evoke began examining its options, including a potential sale, in December, shortly after the tax hikes undermined its medium-term forecast. In June, the company reached an all-share deal, proposing that shareholders exchange 0.537 new Bally’s Intralot shares for each Evoke share, valuing the company at about 52 pence per share or approximately £243.1 million.
Evoke’s nearly £2 billion acquisition of William Hill's non-US operations from Caesars Entertainment in 2022 left it with a substantial debt of £1.86 billion as of the end of last year. To facilitate the deal and refinance Evoke's debt, Bally’s Intralot has secured around £889 million in financing from TPG Credit, Oaktree, and OHA.
Evoke declined to provide further comment when contacted for a follow-up on these announcements.
