evoke has decided to undergo a strategic review to explore its options for its operations, which could include the potential sale of the group.
The statement from the William Hill, 888 and Mr Green operator comes in response to the UK government announcing sweeping changes to the UK gambling sector during last month’s budget.
In a statement to shareholders, evoke said the following:
“Further to the Company’s announcement on 26 November 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 plc 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. Further announcements will be made when and if appropriate.”
The move could see the fragmentation of one of Europe’s most significant gambling portfolios, as just last month, a Sky News report detailed that the firm is looking to cement a buyer for its market-leading Italian business.
‘Highly damaging’
evoke was one of the hardest hit operators by the UK budget last month, which is touted to change the landscape for the country’s gambling sector.
Shortly after the budget announcement, the operator issued a response with CEO Per Widerström calling it “highly damaging for the economy and consumers” as well as “ill-thought-through” and “counterproductive”, noting that it will impact jobs, UK investment and player protection.
“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,” stated Widerström.
“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.”
evoke had warned before the budget was announced that UK tax proposals could force the operator to close between 120 and 200 William Hill betting shops, putting up to 1,500 jobs at risk. However, the land-based sector was not directly affected by the budget.
Alongside remote gaming duty rising from 21% to 40%, the government’s budget said bingo duty will be abolished from its current 10% from April 2026, while a new general betting duty rate for remote betting will be introduced from April 2027 at 25%, excluding self-service betting terminals, spread betting, pool bets and horse racing.
A freeze in casino gaming duty bands in 2026-27 will also take place, with usual RPI (retail price index – inflation) uprating thereafter. According to estimates from the Office for Budget Responsibility, £1.1bn could be raised through gambling tax by 2029-30, but yield could also decrease by a third and customers could move to black market operators.
Outlook
As part of its response to the UK budget last month, evoke withdrew its medium-term financial targets that were announced in October.
In its Q3 report, the group reiterated its FY25 guidance of at least a 20% adjusted EBITDA margin, in addition to an adjusted EBITDA result ahead of current market expectations. Medium-term financial targets were at 5% to 9% annual revenue growth, approximately 100bps of adjusted EBITDA margin expansion per year, and leverage below 3.5x by the end of 2027.
That has since changed.
Last month, evoke stated: “Prior to any mitigating actions and based on the Board’s expectations for gross gaming revenue ahead of today’s UK Budget announcement, these changes in tax rates would increase duty costs by approximately £125-135m 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.
“The Group currently expects to be able to mitigate approximately 50% 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.
“The Group is withdrawing its medium-term financial targets as it evaluates its future investment plans as a result of these significant duty changes. A further update will be provided as and when appropriate.”
With a strategic review now underway, the future business layout of evoke could look a lot more different in the months to come.
