William Hill's parent company Evoke has called on the Government to "carefully consider" further tax increases for the gambling sector, blaming last year's budget for the closure of 270 betting shops. The warning comes as the firm prepares for a £243 million takeover by Greek gambling group Bally's Intralot, a deal it anticipates completing either before the year is out or in early 2026.
Tax burden and shop closures
Evoke announced the shuttering of a significant portion of its high street betting shops in April, following revelations that its losses had deepened considerably. The closures were intended to help cushion the blow of an anticipated rise in betting taxes of up to £135 million annually from 2027, stemming from changes to online gambling legislation introduced by former chancellor Rachel Reeves.
From April this year, remote gaming duty — levied on online casino games — rose sharply from 21% to 40% of a provider's profits. A further new online sports betting duty of 25%, covering all sports with the exception of horse racing, is also set to come into force from 2027.
CEO's appeal ahead of autumn Budget
Per Widerstrom, Evoke's chief executive, said the business "continues to show resilience" and a focus on profitability "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," he said. The Government is reportedly weighing up a rise in the rate of machine games duty — the tax levied on fruit machines, roulette machines and other slot machines — ahead of next week's Budget.
Industry-wide pressure
Earlier this month, Ladbrokes owner Entain and Grosvenor casino parent firm Rank Group both called on the Government to reconsider the reported proposals, warning that shops and venues could be forced to close. On Tuesday, rival gambling group Flutter, which owns Paddy Power, announced it was axing around 1,400 jobs across the UK and Ireland as part of a sweeping restructuring drive aimed at offsetting this year's increased betting and gaming duties.
UK and Ireland boss Kevin Harrington said the group was not able to "fully absorb" the impact without cutting costs.
Trading update
Meanwhile, Evoke provided shareholders with a trading update, revealing group revenues of £406 million for the third quarter. This represented a 7% decline compared with the same period last year, or 2% lower when excluding the effect of approximately 270 fewer betting shops in operation. Evoke attributed the slowdown in sales growth to "customer-friendly sports results" at the start of the football season — meaning the firm was required to pay out a greater sum in winnings to punters.
