Bally’s Intralot Chief Executive Officer, Robeson Reeves, warned that high-value players are long gone from the regulated market as he laid out the roadmap for the operator’s success in the UK.
Executives also hinted at strong progress in the company’s ‘active pursuit’ of evoke, as Reeves opened the company’s first-quarter earnings call by promising more details ‘in the coming days.’
He told investors: “I will not deviate from what is already in the public domain, but I would ask you to read this alongside what we’re about to tell you about our margins, our platform, our operational track record and our cash generation. The strategic rationale is not difficult to follow.”
In the backdrop of the talks between Bally’s Intralot and evoke are significant changes to the UK market, fuelled by an increase in remote gaming duty from 21% to 40% and the prospect of financial risk assessments for players – known colloquially as affordability checks.
While much of the industry has waged a noisy campaign against affordability checks, citing fears over their impact on the market, Reeves emphasised they are of little concern for Bally’s Intralot.
He said: “Our entire platform has been built on this basis [of affordability] anyway, because if people can afford to spend, they can afford to spend forever.
“When you look at our retention, and you look at the stable growth, we’re getting that growth because we are just throwing new customers on top [of existing customers]. So, affordability measures I don’t see as a significant risk to us because our players are much more stable and consistent.”
Bally’s Intralot reported growth of 10.5% in its UK online revenue in Q1 2026, with preliminary figures suggesting similar growth for April and May.
Many critics of both the tax changes and the implementation of affordability checks have suggested that the moves will push players towards the black market.
However, Reeves had a different view, as he argued that the UK’s ‘big spenders’ are already long gone from the regulated market.
He explained: “The UK over the past five years has made for a much more affordable spending climate for the mass market. So when it comes to the black market, I just wouldn’t expect as much change in the market size because high-value customers have already been displaced to the black market.
“Often people look at the UK market in the same way as other territories such as the Netherlands, which had a rapid rise in channelisation. There’s a big difference here, though.”
Market consolidation already underway
Looking ahead, Reeves said that the company is entering this transition period for the UK market from a ‘position of strength’ – underlined by its reported pursuit of evoke.
Bally’s Intralot detailed last month that it is weighing an offer for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of evoke at a price of 50p per share, totalling approximately £225m.
Reeves and Chief Financial Officer Andreas Chrysos remained tight-lipped about further details of the potential acquisition, beyond confirming the prospect of news in the coming days.
At the time, the company said that a move to acquire evoke has the potential to ‘deliver substantial strategic and operational synergies, including enhanced scale, an expanded geographic footprint and opportunities for cost efficiencies’.
An initial deadline of 18 May was set for Bally’s Intralot to confirm if it planned to push on with the acquisition; however, this has now been extended to 17:00 BST on 8 June.
Reeves added that even more change is expected in the UK as the industry tightens its belt amid the prospect of footing the extended tax bill caused by the increase in remote gaming duty.
He explained: “If you think about these other iGaming operators, this is a 19% change. The majority of these operators have a profit margin sub 19%. So that will substantially change their behaviour. They won’t have any money for marketing. So I expect operators’ behaviours to change.
“People are also pulling back from their incentives, their promotions, and so on. We’re definitely seeing the start of consolidation.”
Overall, Bally’s Intralot reported a significant turnaround in Q1 performance compared to a year ago, as revenue was up 180.5% year-on-year to €268.1m, while EBITDA also increased to €100.1m compared to €30.2m in 2025.
These results were largely driven by its acquisition of Bally’s International Interactive in October 2025, which contributed €183.9m in revenue and €72.7m in EBITDA during the quarter.
