William Hill owner Evoke confirms £225m takeover approach from Bally’s Intralot

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: “The heavily indebted owner of William Hill has attracted interest from Bally’s Intralot.

“Evoke has been weighing up options since announcing a strategic review last December.

“There had been speculation the first move would be to sell its Italian operations, yet Bally’s is sniffing around the entire business.

“At its peak in 2021, Evoke – previously called 888 – was worth £1.6 billion.

“It ended 2025 with a mere £100 million valuation, weighed down by slowing UK growth, troubles integrating William Hill following its 2022 acquisition, and buckling under the pressures of tighter regulation, tax, and high levels of borrowing.

“Evoke’s last reported net debt position was £1.8 billion on June 30, 2025. This sky-high debt means Bally’s has two options.

“It either buys the business and slowly pays down the debt, or it buys Evoke and immediately breaks it up to try and claw back some cash to accelerate debt repayments.

“Evoke’s shares only went up seven per cent to 42p despite Bally proposing to pay 50p per share. It suggests the market is sceptical this is a winning bid.

“Shareholders aren’t in a strong position to demand more money.

“Bally’s doesn’t need to be generous with an offer as the ball is in its court for negotiations.

“Evoke is in such a weak position, and there are question marks about its long-term future if it cannot find a buyer for some or all its assets.

“The UK-listed gambling sector has been slowly shrinking over the past decade and a takeover of Evoke would leave Entain, Gaming Realms, Playtech and Rank as the only players still on the London market, alongside Flutter which maintains a secondary listing.

“The gambling sector has been an easy target for successive UK governments seeking to generate extra tax revenue.

“UK high-street gambling has particularly suffered as tighter rules around betting machines have hurt margins, footfall has been in structural decline, cost pressures have intensified, and online operations are highly competitive.

“That’s terrible news for a brand like William Hill which was once the envy of the gambling sector for its size and reach.”