evoke Q3 revenue falls 7% to £406m as CEO urges UK government to avoid further gambling tax rises

evoke PLC, which has accepted a takeover offer from Bally's Intralot, reported group revenue of £406m for the third quarter. That is 7% lower than a year earlier, or 2% lower on a like-for-like constant currency basis.

The company said the figures reflect a smaller retail estate. evoke now operates around 270 fewer William Hill shops than it did a year ago, and it excluded this effect from its underlying results. On 31 March, the day before Remote Gaming Duty rose from 21% to 40%, it decided to close roughly 200 of those shops after a review. The firm also pointed to customer-friendly sports results early in the football season, which it said cut year-on-year revenue growth by 1 to 2 percentage points.

Chief Executive Officer Per Widerström said the business remained resilient, with a continued emphasis on profitability and cash generation after substantial increases in gaming duties, particularly in the UK. He said the closure of 270 shops over the past year showed the impact of higher industry taxation on jobs and livelihoods, and he urged the UK Government to think carefully about any further increases ahead of its Autumn Budget.

Attention now turns to the Budget statement due next week and the future of Machine Games Duty. About 1,000 betting shops remain in the evoke portfolio. The industry had feared a doubling of duty on Category B gaming machines from 20% to 40%. Reports this week suggest the rate will instead rise from 20% to 25%, which some media have described as a win for the sector. Others have noted that a tax increase is still an increase. Grainne Hurst, Chief Executive Officer of the Betting and Gaming Council, warned that adding another tax rise will have consequences.

On the acquisition, Bally's Intralot, which is headquartered in Greece, is paying 52p per share, valuing evoke at £243.1m. evoke said the process is progressing as planned and expects completion in late Q4 2026 or early Q1 2027. Widerström said the company remains focused on disciplined execution and operational efficiency until then. After completion, evoke is expected to delist from the London Stock Exchange, with its assets merged into Athens-listed Bally's Intralot.