Evoke recorded a 7% year-on-year decline in third-quarter revenue and called on the UK government to avoid further gambling tax increases in next week’s autumn budget.
Revenue totalled £406 million (US$542.67 million) in the three months ended 30 September 2026 for the owner of William Hill, 888 and Mr Green. After excluding around 270 betting shops closed over the past year and adjusting for currency movements, revenue fell 2%.
Evoke said favourable football results for bettors at the start of the season reduced growth by one to two percentage points, leaving underlying revenue broadly unchanged.
Chief Executive Per Widerström said the company remained focused on profitability and cash generation following substantial increases in gaming duties, particularly in the UK.
“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,” he added.
Evoke’s shop closures follow tax changes announced in the UK government’s November 2025 budget. Remote gaming duty, which applies to online games of chance, increased from 21% to 40% on 1 April 2026. A new 25% rate for remote betting will take effect on 1 April 2027, while remote bets on UK horse racing will continue to be taxed at 15%.
Evoke projected that the changes would add between £125 million (US$167.08 million) and £135 million (US$180.44 million) to its annual duty bill once fully implemented. It expects to offset roughly half of the additional costs through supplier savings, lower marketing spending, shop closures and operating cost reductions.
Before the budget, Evoke warned that it might close between 120 and 200 William Hill shops, putting up to 1,500 jobs at risk. In March, it announced plans to permanently close about 200 UK shops, representing roughly 15% of its retail estate, with closures beginning in May. The total subsequently rose to about 270.
The company has not disclosed how many jobs are at risk, although the closures are expected to result in hundreds of job losses.
The impact extends across the gambling industry. Last week, the leaders of Britain’s six largest gambling companies said more than 600 betting shops had closed and 10,250 online and retail jobs had been lost or put at risk of redundancy since the 2025 budget. They urged the chancellor to leave machine games duty unchanged at the 28 October budget and suspend the planned April 2027 betting duty increase until the effects of existing tax rises could be assessed.
Evoke began reviewing its options, including a potential sale, in December 2025, weeks after the tax increases prompted it to withdraw its medium-term outlook. In June, it agreed to an all-share takeover by Bally’s Intralot, under which Evoke shareholders will receive 0.537 new shares for each share they hold. The deal values Evoke at 52 pence per share (US$0.69), or about £243.1 million (US$324.93 million).
In its latest update, Evoke said the proposed takeover by Bally’s Intralot remained on track, with shareholders of both companies having approved the deal and most regulatory approvals received.
Completion is expected in 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.
Evoke’s debt has been a key factor in the transaction. Its approximately £2 billion (US$2.67 billion) acquisition of William Hill’s non-US business from Caesars Entertainment in 2022 left it with about £1.86 billion (US$2.49 billion) in debt at the end of 2025. Bally’s Intralot has arranged about £889 million (US$1.19 billion) in financing from TPG Credit, Oaktree, and OHA to fund the acquisition and refinance Evoke’s debt.