All options on the table for Evoke including complete sale
In light of the added tax from the recent UK Budget, Evoke has confirmed it will undertake a strategic review of its group of companies, which includes William Hill, 888, and Mr Green, with a complete sale of the company or certain assets and business units all on the table.
Evoke said: “Further to the company’s announcement on November 26, 2026, and following recent media speculation, the board of directors of the company confirms it has decided to undertake a review of the Company’s strategic options, which will include the consideration of a range of potential alternatives to maximise shareholder value, including, but not limited to a potential sale of the Group, or some of the Company’s assets and/or business units. The board has appointed Morgan Stanley & Co. International and Rothschild & Co as its joint financial advisers in connection with the strategic review. Shareholders are advised that there is no certainty that any transaction will materialise, nor as to the terms of any transaction.”
It believes that RGD at 40 per cent will result in substantial and far-reaching changes to the entire UK-operating environment for betting and gaming, including driving further growth in the unregulated and untaxed black-market.
Evoke said at the time of the budget: “Duty increases will severely jeopardise the progress made by the licensed UK betting and gaming industry during recent years regarding safer gambling. As a direct result of today’s changes, the Board expects that – as has been seen in other markets that have experienced significant tax increases – regulated betting and gaming products will need to become more expensive for consumers, which will in turn drive more players to the black-market where there is no protection for customers, no accountability for operators, and no tax generation.”
Prior to any mitigating actions and based on the Board’s expectations for gross gaming revenue ahead of the UK Budget announcement, these changes in tax rates would increase duty costs by approximately £125 to 135m on an annualised basis once fully implemented from April 2027, with approximately £80m of the pre-mitigation impact arising in FY26 given the timeframe for implementation.
It plans to mitigate approximately 50 per cent of the impact from higher duties over the medium-term through supplier savings, reduced marketing, retail store closures, operating cost savings, and potential changes to the customer proposition. As one of the leading and largest operators in the UK market, the Group is better positioned than many to navigate this increase and, over time, potentially stands to benefit from further consolidation of market share with the likely exit of smaller operators due to the rising costs.
Per Widerström, CEO of evoke, commented: “The decision by the UK government to substantially raise taxes is highly damaging for the economy and consumers. As an industry, we have consistently warned of the significant impact on jobs, investment in the UK, and player protection that these changes would have, yet sadly the Government has chosen not to listen. These proposals are ill-thought-through, counterproductive, and highly damaging. It is clear these changes will significantly harm businesses, employees, and customers.”
“We will begin immediately on executing our mitigation plans, which involve a significant reduction in investment into the UK, and, very regrettably, the likely need for thousands of jobs to be cut up and down the country. As a result of the actions now required, these tax changes will reduce the overall level of tax the regulated industry pays in the UK, and more importantly, it will have a significant negative impact on player protection as these changes will incentivise activity moving to the illegal and dangerous black-market.”
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All options on the table for Evoke including complete sale In light of the added tax from the recent UK Budget, Evoke has confirmed it will undertake a strategic review of its group of companies, which includes William Hill, 888, and Mr Green, with a complete sale of the company or certain assets and business…
The post Evoke responds to British tax increases with strategic review appeared first on G3 Newswire.