Evoke suffers £549m loss in 2025 as duty costs surge

• Evoke reported a full-year 2025 loss after tax of £549.1 million, up from £220.9 million in 2024, largely the result of £440 million in impairment charges related to UK online and retail operations following duty changes.
• Group revenue rose 2% year-on-year to £1.78 billion and adjusted EBITDA improved 14% to £356 million, with margins expanding to 20%.
• The William Hill and 888 owner is closing around 270 UK betting shops and remains in discussions over a possible 50 pence per share offer from Bally’s Intralot.

Evoke has posted a sharp widening of losses in its full-year 2025 results, with the William Hill and 888 owner recording a loss after tax of £549.1 million, up from £220.9 million a year earlier. The increase was largely driven by £440.3 million in impairment charges related to UK online and retail operations following the government’s decision to nearly double remote gaming duty from April 2026.

Group revenue rose 2% to £1.78 billion and adjusted EBITDA improved 14% to £356 million, reflecting improved marketing efficiency and tighter cost control. Reported EBITDA increased 43% to £301 million as exceptional charges fell year-on-year. Net debt edged up to approximately £1.86 billion from £1.79 billion in 2024.

CEO defends progress

Fielding analyst questions on the results call, CEO Per Widerström addressed concerns directly after one analyst flagged continuous share price declines and rising debt during his tenure.

“Being a shareholder myself I can reassure you that we are absolutely focused on delivering shareholder value. After years of decline in terms of revenue and profitability, we are back to growth. We have substantially improved the EBITDA margin and we are deleveraging. That is what we can control, and that is what we are focusing on.”

UK&I revenue fell 3% to £674 million, with a 12% decline in betting revenue partly offset by gaming growth. International revenue reached £175 million, driven by record performance in Italy and Denmark. Retail dipped 1%, with sports results weighing on the segment despite a 5% gaming uplift following the rollout of 5,000 new machines across the estate.

CFO Sean Wilkins noted that net cash at year-end moved to minus £34 million from a positive £9 million in 2024, partly due to a one-off £8 million reclassification of historical gaming tax in Austria and a licensing fee in Italy. The full-year revenue picture had been previewed in a trading update earlier this year.

Shop closures and the duty impact

Evoke has identified around 270 William Hill shops for closure in total following a review of the retail estate. A first tranche of 68 shops was shut in Q4 2025, with the remainder closing from May 2026. The programme is expected to add £11 million to EBITDA on a fully annualised basis, with more than 1,000 shops remaining open.

On the Remote Gaming Duty increase that came into force on 1 April 2026, Wilkins said the group had not yet seen a material impact on trading. Evoke is targeting at least 50% mitigation of the full duty cost in the first year post-implementation, through supplier savings, reduced marketing and efficiency gains.

Like peers Entain and Bally’s, the group expects smaller operators to feel the tax increase most acutely, driving market consolidation.

“We expect to see market consolidation and we think that a long tail of players will get hit disproportionately hard by the tax implementation, and that will cause us to improve our market share.”

Bally’s Intralot talks ongoing

Widerström confirmed that discussions over a possible 50p per share offer from Bally’s Intralot, valuing the group at £225.3 million, remain active. He declined to address analyst questions on the matter. Under UK Takeover Panel rules, Bally’s Intralot has until 18 May to announce its intentions.

During Bally’s Intralot’s own earnings call last week, CEO Robeson Reeves pointed to Evoke’s UK online and international divisions as key strategic attractions.

“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.”

Q1 2026 trading was in line with management expectations, with group revenue up 1% on a reported basis and 2% on a like-for-like basis excluding retail closures. UK online gaming rose 5%, ahead of expectations.

With the Bally’s Intralot deadline approaching and a new regulatory cost structure now in force, the shape of Evoke’s ownership, capital structure and retail estate is likely to become clearer within weeks. The group has been exploring strategic options since launching its review in December.