William Hill shuts betting outlets because it reels from Budget tax raid

The owner of William Hill is closing betting shops as it reels from a £1.1billion Budget tax raid on the gambling sector.

Evoke, which also owns 888 and the Mr Green brand, said it has ‘moved quickly and decisively’ after Rachel Reeves hiked online gaming and sports betting duties.

This includes the closure of some of its 1,300-plus betting shops with the potential loss of hundreds of jobs.

Evoke also said the review into its operations – launched last month in the wake of the Budget – is ongoing with the company and its brands now effectively up for sale.

William Hill could close up to 200 betting shops following the Budget tax raid

Speaking as he updated the City on trading on Tuesday, Evoke chief executive Per Widerstrom said: ‘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.

‘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.’

Evoke did not confirm how many shops have already been closed but indicated ahead of the Budget that it could shut up to 200 sites if gambling taxes were raised.

Reeves used the late Autumn Budget to raise remote gaming duty levied on online casinos from 21 per cent to 40 per cent from April and lifted the levy on online sports betting from 15 to 25 per cent.

However, horse racing was spared from online sports betting hike and the Chancellor also abolished a so-called ‘bingo duty’ of 10 per cent.

The tax hikes sparked fury across the gambling industry with Widerstrom at the time labelling the move ‘ill-thought-through, counter-productive, and highly damaging’.

Updating investors on latest trading, Evoke on Tuesday warned that revenue last year looks to have come in below City forecasts at around £1.8billion.

It also refrained from providing any outlook for this year ahead of a potential sale.

Shares tumbled as much as 12 per cent in early trading and are down more than 30 per cent since the Budget and over 90 per cent in the past five years.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: ‘Evoke is facing a break-up situation and the big question is which parts of the business will be sold.

‘William Hill was once the big prize for the UK gambling sector, but now it is a thorn in Evoke’s side. It is expensive and cumbersome to have a big physical store estate yet finding a buyer for William Hill won’t be straightforward given the tax pressures.

‘Evoke may struggle to find someone to pay anything close to fair value, suggesting any asset sale could involve other parts of the group.

‘The Italian operations might be easier to sell, providing cash to help ease debt pressures, but that might only be a sticking plaster.

‘The lack of forward guidance has gone down poorly with the market, suggesting the company is staring into the fog, uncertain about where it will go next.’