William Hill proprietor Evoke receives £225m takeover bid from US on line casino large

William Hill owner Evoke has confirmed it has received a potential takeover bid from a US casino group. 

The FTSE-250 listed bookmaker said it was in talks with Bally’s Intralot – the front-of-shirt sponsor for Nottingham Forest Football Club – over a takeover proposal worth 50p per share, valuing the group at £225.3million.

The offer represents a premium to its closing price on Friday of 38.85p a share. 

In a statement, Evoke said: ‘There can be no certainty that an offer will be made or as to the terms on which any offer might be made.’ 

Bally’s, which is listed on the Athens stock exchange, has said it will decide to table a firm offer for Evoke or walk away by 5pm on 18 May.

The betting firm, previously 888 Holdings, effectively put itself up for sale last December, when it launched a strategic review to ‘maximise shareholder value’.

Bally’s Intralot, Nottingham Forest’s shirt sponsor, has tabled a £225m bid for Evoke

It has been hit hard by tax increases on the industry after the Budget dealt a hammer blow to its UK business.

Rachel Reeves raised the remote gaming duty levied on online casinos from 21 to 40 per cent and lifted the levy on online sports betting from 15 to 25 per cent.

Evoke boss Per Widerstrom said at the time that the tax hikes were ‘ill-thought-through, counter-productive, and highly damaging,’ and were likely to result in the closure of a large number of its 1,300 UK sites.

In March, Evoke confirmed plans to close 200 betting shops from May.

Evoke’s woes predate the Budget tax raid, having struggled with mounting debts since 888 bought the non-US operations of William Hill for £2billion in 2021. 

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell said: ‘Evoke’s last reported net debt position was £1.8 billion on 30 June 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 shares rose 6 per cent to 41.2p this morning, which ‘suggests the market is sceptical this is a winning bid,’ said Coatsworth. 

He added: ‘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.’