The Evoke-owned brand William Hill will withdraw from 13 countries from 2 December onwards, with 10 of those markets in Africa.
From 2 December, residents in the following countries will be unable to place bets with William Hill; Angola, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Kenya, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Vietnam.
As explained on the William Hill website, any open bets will be settled as normal up to 2 December. Any bets due to be settled after will be voided and refunded to accounts.
Customers will be able to log in to their accounts until 5 January to withdraw their funds.
From 6 January onwards, players’ login details will no longer work. To withdraw their remaining funds, they will have to contact the customer service team.
In 2022, Evoke licensed the 888 brand to the Africa-facing joint venture 888Africa for regulated online markets in the continent. Evoke retains a stake in the venture.
Ex-Paddy Power head of competitive intelligence Christopher Coyne serves as CEO of 888Africa, while former William Hill online manager director Andrew Lee holds the position of chief product officer.
Threat of retail closures in the UK
The withdrawal from these 13 markets comes after Evoke warned it could close up to 200 William Hill retail shops in the UK should the government increase gambling tax in the November budget, which is due next Wednesday.
Evoke is reportedly mulling the closure of up to 15% of its UK William Hill stores, with 1,500 jobs potentially being lost.
An Evoke spokesperson said: “As part of our ongoing planning, we are assessing the potential impact of different overall tax scenarios on our UK operations. This includes the difficult but necessary consideration for shop closures.
“We are mindful of potential tax increases in the forthcoming budget which would impact investment in the UK and drive more customers to the black market.”
William Hill’s exit from 13 markets, including 10 in Africa, signals a significant retreat.