Evoke cites UK tax rises as it closes 270 William Hill shops and revenue falls 7%

William Hill owner evoke says higher gambling duties are still hitting the retail side of the business, even as it pushes ahead with its Bally’s Intralot takeover. For PSPs and acquirers watching UK high-risk volumes, the interesting part is not the headline revenue drop so much as the company’s continued shift away from shops and toward offsetting the tax bill elsewhere.

1. For the three months to 30 September 2026, evoke reported group revenue of £406 million, down 7% year on year. Excluding the roughly 270 betting shops it has closed over the past year, and at constant exchange rates, revenue fell 2%, which the company said reflected football results that favoured punters early in the season and cut 1 to 2 percentage points from growth.
2. Chief executive Per Widerström said the business remained resilient on an underlying basis, but linked the pressure to “substantial increases in gaming duties, particularly in the UK.” He added that the closure of 270 shops over the past year showed the impact of higher industry taxation on jobs and livelihoods, and urged the UK Government not to raise gambling taxes again in next week’s Autumn Budget.
3. The taxes on betting shops were not raised in last year’s Budget. Remote gaming duty, which applies to games of chance played online, rose from 21% to 40% on 1 April 2026, and a new 25% rate for remote betting takes effect on 1 April 2027, while remote bets on UK horse racing stay at 15%. evoke said the shop closures are partly being used to offset the higher online tax bill.
4. The company estimated the duty changes would add about £125 million to £135 million a year to costs once fully in place. It said it expects to offset about half of that through supplier savings, lower marketing spend, store closures and operating cost cuts, which tells you where the pressure is landing in practice: less retail footprint, tighter economics, and more attention on cost discipline.
5. Evoke also said its takeover by Bally’s Intralot remains on track. Shareholders of both companies have approved the deal, most regulatory approvals have been received, and completion is expected late in the fourth quarter of 2026 or early in the first quarter of 2027. The company gave no profit, earnings or cash figures in the update.

For high-risk payment providers, the useful read-through is simple: UK gambling tax changes are already reshaping where volume sits, with online economics under pressure and retail estates being cut back to help absorb the bill. That is the sort of policy change that changes merchant mix, not just margins.