Evoke, the owner of William Hill and 888, has agreed to a £243.1 million takeover by Greek gambling firm Bally’s Intralot. The deal values Evoke at 52p per share, following two months of negotiations that began with an initial offer of around £225 million.
The companies cited recent increases in UK gambling taxes and heightened competition as creating an “opportunity for consolidation”. In April, Evoke announced plans to close approximately 270 betting shops to mitigate the impact of higher duties.
Mark Summerfield, chairman of Evoke, said the strategic review was driven by “significant UK duty changes and the constraints posed by the Evoke Group’s existing capital structure”. The group expects duty costs to rise by up to £135 million annually from 2027, following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget which raised remote gaming duty from 21% to 40% and introduced a new 25% online sports betting duty from 2027.
Summerfield described the combination as creating “one of the world’s leading online betting and gaming groups” with enhanced scale and diversification. Soo Kim, chairman of Bally’s, said the merger would form “a leading, diversified European gaming champion” by combining Evoke’s iconic brands with Intralot’s technology.
Evoke has struggled with significant debt, reporting nearly £1.9 billion at the end of 2025, largely stemming from its £2 billion acquisition of William Hill’s non-US operations in 2021. Bally’s Intralot was formed last year through the merger of Greek lottery firm Intralot and US casino operator Bally’s Corporation, which sponsors Nottingham Forest Football Club.
