Bally’s Intralot CEO Hints at Further Cost Reductions in the UK

Bally’s Intralot CEO Robeson Reeves said the operator is looking at further reducing costs, and that a machine games duty (MGD) increase in the UK could impact Evoke when the former’s acquisition of the latter completes.

In June, Bally’s Intralot announced a deal to buy the William Hill and 888 owner for approximately £243.1 million. The deal is expected to complete in either Q4 2026 or Q1 2027. Prior to the acquisition being announced, Reeves confirmed the recent online tax increase in the UK was a key driver behind its plans to purchase Evoke.

UK taxes rising

Since April, remote gaming duty (RGD), paid on online casino bets, has increased from 21% of gross gaming yield (GGY) to 40%. In addition, general betting duty, paid on online sports bets, will be raised from 15% of GGY to 25% in 2027. A further duty increase could potentially be introduced if MGD is also raised.

Cross-party think tank the Social Markets Foundation (SMF) recently recommended MGD should go up to 40% of net takings. The SMF wants a tax rate to encompass all Category B machines, arguing the government needs to raise revenue, and that more harmful types of gambling should lead to higher rates of tax. The SMF’s basis for this is that one in four (27%) casino game users on machines gambles at risky or harmful levels.

Speaking on an earnings call following the release of Bally’s Intralot’s H1 2026 financial results, Reeves was asked if he foresees the sector being targeted further by the UK government. Reeves said:

“I’d say many operators, including ourselves, have looked at reducing costs and reducing them further. They [the UK government] have talked about aim to permit and the high street.”

In August, the government announced plans to revoke the “aim to permit” rule stipulated in the Gambling Act 2005, which would mean local councils would have greater power to prevent gambling venues from opening.

Currently, the default starting point in a license application would be for the license to be granted; a licensing authority would have to justify its reasons for rejecting a license application if it wished to do so. The new legislation would essentially flip this over and require the applicant to prove its application is in line with licensing objectives.

“Crazy to look at anything else”

Reeves said:

“l think it’s more directed towards adult gaming centres, and slightly towards the actual betting shops. But I do suspect if they’re going to look at anything, they might look at machine games duty. But it would be pretty crazy to come back and look at anything else in the online sector given the degree of trauma that’s already happened.”

Reeves agreed when asked if this is more of an issue for Evoke than Bally’s Intralot, but said the potential impact to revenue was excluded from its predicted £180 million in synergies when the deal completes.

Strong result for Bally’s

Despite the UK tax issues, Bally’s Intralot grew its UK online revenue 5% (£7.72 million) quarter-on-quarter for Q2. This was the first quarter in which the new RGD was in place, and the number was up 11.6% year-on-year on a constant currency basis. Bally’s Intralot said the impact of the RGD increase totalled €34 million (£29.2 million) in the quarter, but that 65% of this was mitigated against through management actions and underlying trading.