Evoke has reported revenue of £887.5m for the first half of 2026, with the figure remaining flat year on year (YoY) in the face of a “significantly more challenging operating environment”.
Bosses of the William Hill, 888 and Mr Green parent blamed the lacklustre performance on “substantial” tax increases across the London-listed operator’s core markets including the UK, where remote gaming duty almost doubled to 40% in April.
On a more positive note, revenue rose 2% year on year (YoY) on a like-for-like basis when stripping out the financial hit from around 270 fewer betting shops compared with the corresponding period last year.
Adjusted EBITDA fell 10% to £150.2m, giving an EBITDA margin of 16.9%, the company noted. The EBITDA decrease was attributed to a £46m YoY increase in costs associated with gaming duty increases.
Its UK and Ireland (UKI) Online arm posted a 4% increase in revenue to £348.1m, with sports betting down 2%, though gaming climbed 7% to £233.5m driven by the “continued strong performance of William Hill”, which management said was “positively influenced by product improvements and more effective bonusing”.
Average monthly actives dipped 1% YoY to just almost 1.1 million, yet adjusted EBITDA for UKI Online jumped 28% to £77m.
As for UKI retail, revenue slid 2.6% YoY to £245.6m as a result of 278 premises shutting in the last 12 months.
Revenue from its International division decreased 1.9% YoY to £293.8m, with solid performances in Italy (+21% YoY) and Denmark (+13% YoY) offset by declines in Spain, Romania and Rest of World. Adjusted EBITDA slumped 20% to £68.2m, though.
However, evoke said these extra costs were partially offset through “lower but more effective marketing investment, improved promotional efficiency and continued operational cost savings”.
At a groupwide level, gross profit amounted to £560.8m, down 6% year on year. Marketing costs fell 17% £117.4m.
Evoke is currently subject to a takeover by Bally’s Intralot all-share acquisition worth £243m. Bally’s Intralot is also taking on evoke’s debt pile, meaning its total enterprise value is £2.2bn.
Commenting on the Q2 results in a prepared statement, evoke CEO Per Widerström said: “The first half demonstrated the resilience of the business in a significantly more challenging operating environment following substantial increases in gaming duties introduced across some of our core markets, most notably in the UK.
“We responded decisively, focusing on the areas within our control. As a result of the significant operational improvements we have implemented across the business in recent years, coupled with the successful mitigation of a meaningful proportion of the increased duty costs, we have been able to maintain operational momentum, deliver like-for-like revenue growth, and protect profitability and cash generation.
“Following the board’s strategic review, in June we announced the recommended acquisition of evoke by Bally’s Intralot. The board unanimously concluded that the transaction represents the most attractive and deliverable outcome for shareholders, while providing a stronger long-term capital structure for the business.”
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced plans to scrap the ‘aim to permit’ rule across Britain, which prevents local councils from refusing the opening of new betting shops.
As well as William Hill closing 278 shops, Betfred confirmed at the end of July that the Warrington-based bookmaker is to shut more than 130 premises, putting around 600 jobs at risk.
Earlier this month, the former chief strategy officer at evoke, Vaughan Lewis, penned an op-ed for EGR in which he made the point that retail was spared in last November’s budget, yet government policy meant shops were still closing anyway.
The Financial Times published a chart yesterday which showed the number of betting shops in Britain fell from nearly 9,000 in 2015 to under 6,000 in 2025. That number has shrunk to just above 5,000 today.
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CEO Per Widerström hails “resilience of the business” despite group EBITDA sliding 10% ahead of the Bally’s Intralot takeover
The post Evoke records flat year-on-year revenue in H1 as tax increases bite first appeared on EGR Intel.