UK gambling giant evoke is still not ruling out a potential sale of the business, as 2025 came to a close with a double-edged sword of overall revenue growth but also the confirmation of further betting shop closures.
The LSE-listed company, which runs the William Hill, 888 and Mr Green brands, first confirmed that it’s looking at potential strategic options for its business back in December – a direct result of the UK’s new taxation landscape.
This development was again highlighted by Per Widerström, CEO of evoke, in the company’s latest post-close trading update: “We were very disappointed with the outcome of the UK Budget in November that dealt a significant blow to both evoke and the wider regulated industry.
“We continue to believe these tax increases will negatively impact the industry’s economic contribution, customer protection, and will ultimately serve to support further growth in the illegal black market.
“As a result of these significant UK tax increases, the Board is assessing its strategic options, with a resolute focus on maximising shareholder value.”
A good end to a tricky year
Despite the somewhat somber statement, evoke has reported strong results for the 12 months ending 31 December 2025, with Q4 standing as the strongest quarter of the year for the firm at £464m.
This was up 7% on the previous quarter, but down 3% YoY when taking into consideration a more operator-friendly sporting calendar last year. Betting revenue in particular was down 22% YoY.
Looking at the positive margins, Q4 gaming revenue was up 9%, together with a 10% YoY uptick in retail and International up by 14%.
Therefore, the company expects FY25 revenue to be up 2% YoY at around £1,786m, Adjusted EBITDA of between £355m-£360m (up 14% YoY), and an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 20% in line with full-year guidance.
“During Q4 we made good progress against our strategic plans, delivering our best quarter of the year and demonstrating the underlying momentum in the business,” Widerström added.
“Our focus on core markets continued to drive our profitable growth, with Italy and Denmark both delivering record quarterly revenues in Q4. This positive momentum has continued into 2026 with a strong start to the year with good growth across all divisions.”
Another William Hill winddown
In its conclusion, the Board commented that it does not see it appropriate to provide forward-looking financial guidance at this time, given the ongoing review of the evoke’s strategic options.
It has confirmed, however, that some retail stores will close – meaning WIlliam HIll shops, as the 888 group of brands are all online. Although it remains one of the biggest betting retailers on the UK high street, William HIlll’s numbers have been declining over the past few years, and another round of closures of the least cost efficient shops is now on the horizon.
Although these shops may have been under review prior to the UK tax debates last year, the forthcoming increase in remote gaming duty (RGD) in April will have hammered the final nail in their coffin. The announcement comes after Evoke confirmed that William Hill would be withdrawing from a number of Asian, African and Latin American markets late last year.
Widerström concluded: “We have moved quickly and decisively to execute on our mitigation plans including the closure of retail stores that are no longer sustainable as well as broader cost savings, and we will update shareholders on our progress and updated strategic plan in due course.”