Evoke Sale Indicates Surging European Regulation Likely To Drive M&As
Bally’s Intralot’s planned £243.1 million acquisition of William Hill owner Evoke Plc is seen by industry insiders as a response to looming regulation, with predictions that regulated markets will now embark on a wave of consolidation, writes David Cook.
Athens-based Intralot, Bally’s new European vehicle, will buy debt-burdened evoke–owner of William Hill, 888 and Mr Green–in an all-share offer of £243.1 million (US$332.14m).
The acquisition, announced on June 5, is expected to conclude in Q4 this year or Q1 2027.
Bally’s move came amid recent poor financial results for FTSE250 Evoke.
Record Loss
The operator’s after-tax loss soared 150 percent to £549.1 million (US$728.67m) for 2025, driven primarily by £440 million (US$583.89m) of impairments against its UK online and retail businesses, while its net debt increased from £1.79 billion to £1.86 billion (US$2.46bn).
Evoke Plc said it would close about 270 of its iconic William Hill betting shops in the UK, some 15 percent of its retail estate.
In late May, prior to the announcement of the deal, Bally’s Intralot CEO Robeson Reeves mentioned how increased taxation in the UK was a key driver in Bally’s Intralot’s interest in evoke.
From the start of April, Remote Gaming Duty in the UK, paid on online casino bets, was raised from 21 percent of Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) to 40 percent.
In addition, General Betting Duty, paid on online sports bets, will go up from 15 percent of GGY to 25 percent in April 2027 – although bets on horse racing will be exempt from this.
Tax Increases
“Tax increases of this nature have been implemented periodically in the markets where we operate and have historically led to consolidation in the industry, favouring higher margin operators such as Bally’s Intralot, through increased market share,” said Reeves.
Following the announcement of the gambling tax increases in last November’s UK Autumn Budget, betting industry watchers concurred that so-called Tier Two (and below) operators would now be more likely to consolidate or be acquired.
Last December evoke confirmed its plans for a strategic review and conceded that this pathway could lead to the sale of the business.
UK Market Scepticism
But Paul Richardson, Managing Partner at consultancy Partis, is sceptical about the prospect of investing in the UK while there is market and tax uncertainty.
“Personally, I wouldn’t be investing heavily in UK gaming assets over the next 18-months,” Richardson told iGamingFuture. “Because it’s difficult to know what they’re worth under the new regulatory environment.
“The Netherlands provides a useful case study.
“Increased taxation, advertising restrictions, and tighter regulations have pushed many consumers towards offshore operators.
“Despite higher tax rates, overall tax receipts have not necessarily improved because regulated activity has declined,” he concluded.
Second Division
The valuation of evoke is some way below those of its main UK competitors, Flutter Entertainment, owner of Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Bet, and Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral.
Flutter’s market capitalisation is £13.99 billion (US$18.55bn), at the time of writing, and Entain is valued at £3.75 billion (US$4.97bn), putting them in a different financial league.
Bally’s Intralot, itself, was only formed last October.
Bally’s International Interactive business was sold to supplier Intralot for €2.7 billion (£2.33bn/US$3.07bn), in a deal which allowed Bally’s to become the majority shareholder of Intralot with a 58 percent stake.
Capital structure is seen as a potential factor in Intralot’s motivation to start buying up B2C gaming brands.
Competition
The planned acquisition of evoke leads to the question of whether the operator can compete with Entain for second place in the UK market in the long-term.
Lee Hills, CEO of supplier SolutionsHub, told me: “It should certainly put evoke in a stronger position.
“But Flutter remains in a different category in terms of scale, diversification and financial strength, while Entain already has a substantial international footprint and strong portfolio of brands.
“The transaction gives evoke the potential benefits of greater scale, improved technology and meaningful cost efficiencies.
“But those benefits still need to be delivered.
“A larger combined business is not automatically a stronger one.”
