William Hill Owner Evoke Agrees £243M Takeover by Bally’s Intralot Amid Gambling Tax Pressure

William Hill parent Evoke has agreed to a £243.1 million takeover by Bally’s Intralot, a move that highlights how rapidly conditions are changing across the European gambling industry. While the deal gives shareholders a clear exit at a premium to recent trading levels, it also reflects the growing financial and regulatory pressures facing betting operators in the UK.

The agreement values Evoke at 52p per share and follows nearly two months of negotiations between the companies. Bally’s Intralot had initially approached the gambling group with a proposal worth around £225 million before improving its offer. The transaction will bring together some of the industry’s most recognizable brands, including William Hill, 888 and Mr Green, under a larger gaming and technology-focused business.

For Evoke, the takeover arrives at a critical moment. The company has spent recent years trying to balance growth ambitions with a significant debt burden following the acquisition of William Hill’s non-US operations in a deal valued at approximately £2 billion in 2021. Although the purchase transformed Evoke into one of the largest online betting groups in Europe, it also left the company carrying substantial borrowings.

At the end of 2025, Evoke reported nearly £1.9 billion in debt. Investors have increasingly focused on that figure as the operating environment for gambling companies has become more challenging. Rising competition, stricter regulations and growing compliance costs have all weighed on profitability across the sector.

The biggest challenge has come from taxation. In the 2025 Autumn Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced sweeping changes to gambling duties. Remote Gaming Duty was increased from 21% to 40%, while a new 25% online sports betting duty is scheduled to take effect from 2027 for all sports except horse racing. Evoke previously warned that the changes could increase annual costs by as much as £135 million from 2027.

Those pressures have already prompted significant restructuring. Earlier this year, the company announced plans to close around 270 betting shops across the UK as part of efforts to offset higher operating costs and improve efficiency.

Evoke chairman Mark Summerfield said the board’s strategic review focused on maximizing shareholder value in light of the changing regulatory landscape and the group’s existing capital structure. Management concluded that Bally’s Intralot offered the most attractive path forward for shareholders and stakeholders.

From Bally’s perspective, the acquisition provides immediate access to established betting brands with strong recognition across the UK and international markets. The company believes combining Evoke’s consumer-facing brands with Intralot’s technology platform, data capabilities and gaming expertise will create a stronger and more diversified gambling group.

Bally’s chairman Soo Kim said the enlarged business would benefit from greater scale, increased resilience and stronger operational capabilities. The company also expects to generate synergies that could support future investment and growth across regulated gaming markets.

The transaction may prove to be more than an isolated deal. Industry analysts have increasingly pointed to consolidation as a likely outcome for the gambling sector as operators adapt to higher taxes and stricter regulations. Scale is becoming more valuable as companies seek to spread compliance costs and maintain competitiveness. Similar consolidation trends have emerged in other industries, where companies facing economic pressures are turning to mergers and acquisitions, as seen when EasyJet rejected a potential £3 billion takeover bid from Castlelake.

For Evoke shareholders, the offer provides certainty after a prolonged period of market uncertainty. However, the valuation also serves as a reminder of how quickly sentiment can change in highly regulated industries. Just a few years after completing a multibillion-pound expansion through William Hill, the company is now being acquired for a fraction of that amount.

If regulatory approvals are secured, the Bally’s Intralot takeover will create one of Europe’s largest online betting and gaming groups and could mark the beginning of a broader wave of consolidation across the sector.

Additional information about the transaction and market reaction is available via the Financial Times.

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