Q3 results: 270 shops gone, Evoke braces for machine tax

• Evoke’s Q3 revenue drops 7% to £406m, or 2% on a like-for-like basis.
• Around 270 fewer UK betting shops and bettor-friendly football results weigh on the quarter.
• Bally’s Intralot takeover remains on track for late Q4 2026 or early Q1 2027.

Evoke, the operator behind William Hill, 888 and Mr Green, reports a 7% drop in third-quarter revenue to £406m after reducing its UK retail estate by around 270 shops.

CEO Per Widerström calls on the UK government to avoid further tax increases, five days before Chancellor John Healey presents the Autumn Budget.

A costly football start

Revenue for the three months to 30 September totalled £406m, compared with £435.4m a year earlier, according to Evoke’s Q3 trading update. On a like-for-like constant currency basis, which excludes the closed shops and exchange rate effects, revenue fell 2%.

Sports results added to the pressure. Outcomes favoured customers at the start of the football season, which Evoke estimates reduced group growth by 1-2 percentage points. Adjusted for expected sports margins, revenue was broadly stable.

Entain reported a similar impact from football results in its own Q3 update earlier this month.

From 1,302 to 1,024 shops

The shop closures follow the UK’s November 2025 Budget. The government raised Remote Gaming Duty, the tax on online casino revenue, from 21% to 40% from 1 April 2026. Duty on online sports betting rises from 15% to 25% in April 2027.

Evoke estimates the two changes will add £125m to £135m to its annual tax bill once fully in effect. The company launched a strategic review in December 2025, appointing Morgan Stanley and Rothschild as advisers.

It later reported a £549.1m loss for 2025, driven mainly by £440.3m in impairments on its UK online and retail businesses.

Evoke closed 68 shops in Q4 2025. In March, it confirmed around 200 William Hill locations would close from 24 May.

By 30 June, the group operated 1,024 shops, down from 1,302 a year earlier. Retail revenue fell 2.6% to £245.6m in the first half, but grew 4% on a like-for-like basis. Evoke expects the closures to add around £11m to annual EBITDA.

First-half gaming duties rose by £46m across the UK, Italy and Romania. Adjusted EBITDA fell 9.5% to £150.2m. Net debt reached £1.9bn, or 5.6 times adjusted EBITDA.

Machine tax next

Per Widerström, CEO of Evoke, said:

“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.”

“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.”

The Budget is due on 28 October. According to The Times, Machine Games Duty, the UK tax on gaming machine revenue, is reportedly set to rise from 20% to 25%.

The change would apply to the standard MGD band, which covers most machines costing up to £5 per play. The Social Market Foundation think tank had proposed a 40% rate for betting shop machines in June.

Gaming machines are a key revenue source for UK retail operators. Betfred chairman Fred Done has said fixed-odds betting terminals generate half of his group’s shop profits.

The Betting and Gaming Council, the UK industry body, expects more than 600 shops and 5,000 jobs to be lost across the sector between the last Budget and the end of 2026. Flutter has put up to 1,400 jobs at risk in the UK and Ireland, and Betfred is consulting on 132 shop closures.

Bally’s Intralot deal advances

The strategic review concluded on 5 June, when Athens-listed Bally’s Intralot agreed a £243.1m all-share acquisition. Evoke shareholders receive 0.537 new Intralot shares per share, valued at 52p, with a cash alternative capped at £117.1m.

The valuation compares with the £2.2bn that 888 paid Caesars for William Hill’s non-US business in 2022. Lenders led by TPG Credit, alongside Oaktree and OHA, committed around £889m to refinance Evoke’s senior secured debt.

Evoke shareholders approved the deal in August, with 99.91% of scheme shares in favour. Bally’s Intralot shareholders have also approved it, and Evoke says the majority of required regulatory approvals have been received.

Evoke has also sold non-core assets. In August, GiG agreed to acquire an 80% stake in 888AFRICA from an Evoke subsidiary for €16.4m.

Completion is expected in late Q4 2026 or early Q1 2027. Widerström says the company remains focused on disciplined execution and operational efficiency in the meantime.

If the reported 25% MGD rise is confirmed on 28 October, it would arrive before the deal closes. Bally’s Intralot would inherit a retail estate already resized for higher online duties. A larger increase would put the profitability of the remaining William Hill shops under fresh review.