Bally’s Intralot CEO Says UK Tax Increase Driving Interest in Evoke

Bally’s Intralot CEO Robeson Reeves has confirmed the recent online tax increase in the UK is a key driver in its potential plans to acquire William Hill and 888 owner Evoke.

Last week, Bally’s Intralot was granted an extension to the date by which it is required to make a proposal to buy Evoke, which also owns Mr Green, to 5pm UK time on Monday, 8 June. This followed an announcement in April that Evoke had opened talks with Bally’s Intralot over a potential takeover.

Evoke said discussions have taken place over a potential offer for the company worth £0.50 per share, which would value it at £225 million. Bally’s Intralot had previously been expected to make a bid for Evoke by the middle of May, but the operator was granted three more weeks to make a decision.

Reeves addressed the potential takeover in a statement within the final publication of Bally’s Intralot’s Q1 2026 results, following the release of provisional results last week. The results showed Bally’s Intralot’s revenue for the quarter had jumped 180% year-on-year to €268.1 million (£232.3 million).

The financials were not comparable on a like-for-like basis, as operations in Q1 2025 were prior to the acquisition of Bally’s International Interactive by Intralot for €2.7 billion last October.

The deal, which included Bally’s UK and Spanish interactive businesses, allowed Bally’s to become the majority shareholder of Intralot with a 58% stake.

Changing dynamics

Reeves mentioned how an increase to online casino tax can work to the advantage of operators such as Bally’s Intralot. From the start of April, remote gaming duty, paid on online casino bets, increased from 21% of gross gaming yield (GGY) to 40%.

There will also be a rise in general betting duty, paid on online sports bets, from 15% of GGY to 25%, in April 2027; horseracing bets will be exempt from the increase.

According to Reeves, the consolidation these increases could cause in the UK market can give Bally’s Intralot greater market share. Reeves said:

“The increase in gaming tax from 21% to 40% has changed the dynamics in the UK market.

“Tax increases of this nature have been implemented periodically in the markets where we operate and have historically led to consolidation in the industry, favouring higher margin operators such as Bally's Intralot, through increased market share.

"In this context, Bally's Intralot is exploring an emerging opportunity related to Evoke, which we are actively pursuing and we will be able to provide further details in the coming days.”

Not concerned about affordability checks

Following the publication of the results, Reeves spoke on an earnings call, where he touched upon the issue of affordability checks. The checks were proposed as part of the government’s 2023 Gambling White Paper.

Light touch vulnerability checks were initially triggered when a player spent £500 in a month as part of a trial that began in August 2024, and from February 28, 2025, this decreased to £150 spend in a month.

The final stage of the rollout of affordability checks is yet to be announced, but Reeves made clear he is not concerned about their potential impact, stating:

“When you look at our retention, we're getting that growth because you're basically just throwing new customers on top and people concentrate their wallet with us.

"So affordability measures, I don't see as a significant risk to us, because our players are much more stable and consistent.”