William Hill owner evoke has continued to sound the alarm over black market penetration in the UK, warning that the rising influence of unlicensed operators is to blame for the company’s drop in online revenues.
Updating investors, the operator’s Chief Financial Officer, Sean Wilkins, criticised the £26m put aside by the government to increase enforcement against the black market as being ‘nothing compared to the ‘enormous resources of the black market’.
evoke doubled down on its grievances with the rises in taxation, calling for ‘far greater urgency’ from the UK government to pull one of the many levers it has at its disposal in honing in on taking action on the black market.
Wilkins underpinned that discussions are ongoing between the Betting and Gaming Council, evoke and the government over the most impactful enforcement against the black market, warning that the impact on channelisation rates will be substantial as the balance shifts in favour of the unlicensed sector.
Furthermore, it is not solely in the UK where the black market is dragging performance for evoke. In Romania, where the gambling tax was increased from 21% to 27%, the black market is beginning to surge and cause a significant impact on the operator’s performance.
Group Chief Executive Officer Per Widerström warned that as a result, the group has been forced ‘to cut back on marketing and promotions to protect profitability’.
Both in the UK and Romania, surging tax rates have led to an exodus of high-value players to the black market, where cost-cutting measures and marketing cuts aren’t forced on the industry.
Evoke outlook
Publishing its FY2025 results, albeit a day later than initially planned, evoke declared a slight increase in group revenue in comparison to the same period last year, as well as an increase in EBITDA, but net debt continues to rise.
However, something that was also noted in its results was that impairment charges in UK and online retail continued to bite the operator’s performance, with loss after tax hitting £549.1m for the year.
The challenges surrounding the UK market raise questions about the viability of expansion here, something alluded to by evoke’s potential sale of the William Hill brand – a sale that is said to still be subject to discussion with Bally’s Intralot.
A new owner for William Hill?
William Hill’s betting shop estate has continued to struggle for a few years now, with the operator also racking up multiple owners in a short space of time.
Throughout 2025, those challenges have persisted. With the operator confirming earlier in the year that it would be closing 200 shops this year, in addition to the 68 shops closed in Q4, the future is arguably looking somewhat bleak for William Hill.
Revenue for the operator’s betting shop estate in the UK had declined by 1%, while growth in its gaming division was hindered by an overall decline in sports betting activity.
Earlier this month, evoke confirmed that it was in discussions with Bally’s Intralot regarding the sale of William Hill, with a possible £225m transaction on the table.
Widerström didn’t provide any forward-looking statements on evoke’s earnings call as a result of its strategic review that has been in place since December last year, but he did state that discussions with Bally’s Intralot on a possible offer ‘remain active’.
The CEO stated: “Operationally, our priorities remain unchanged: discipline execution, driving profitable growth and strengthening the balance sheet.”
evoke’s FY25 financials
For FY25, evoke noted that its total revenue improved by 2% year-on-year (YoY) to £1.78bn (FY24: £1.75bn), following declines in 888 UK&I online to focus on profitability, new machine rollout offsetting sports results in UK retail, as well as international operations achieving record revenue in Italy and Denmark alongside the Winner acquisition.
Revenue
- Total online – £1.28bn, up 3% YoY (FY24: £1.25bn).
- UK&I – £674m, down 3% YoY (FY24: £693.2m).
- International – £606.8m, up 9% YoY (FY24: £555.2m).
- Retail – £501m, down 1% YoY (FY24: £506.1m).
Adjusted EBITDA for the operator rose by 14% YoY to £356.2m (FY24: £312.5m) following ‘improved gross margins, more effective marketing returns and disciplined cost control’.
Adjusted EBITDA
- Total online – £326.5m, up 20% YoY (FY24: £272.9m).
- UK&I – £151.3m, up 6% YoY (FY24: £142.7m).
- International – £175.2m, up 35% YoY (FY24: £130.2m).
- Retail – £55.1m, down 17% YoY (FY24: £66.5m).
- Central costs – £25.4m, down 6% YoY (FY24: £26.9m).
Net debt continued to climb throughout the year, rising to £1.86bn as of 31 December 2025 (£1.79bn in December 2024, £1.76bn in December 2023).
“Operationally, our priorities remain unchanged: discipline execution, driving profitable growth and strengthening the balance sheet.”
Per Widerström, Chief Executive Officer of evoke
The operator also reported that Q1 2026 was trading in line with its expectations, with revenue up by 1% YoY to £440m. Growth was achieved in UK online gaming, Italy, Denmark and retail, but declines occurred in UK 888 operations, Spain, Romania and RoW, as well as international sports impacted by sports results in Italy.
evoke also noted that further shop closures are to come following approximately 270 shop closures in reaction to a review of its retail estate, high street trading conditions and the UK gambling tax changes.
Q1 2026
- Total online – £318m, up 2% YoY.
- UK&I – £170m, up 5% YoY.
- International – £148m, down 2% YoY.
- Retail (like-for-like) – £123m, up 3% YoY.
