Bally's Intralot to Acquire evoke plc for $326 Million

Context: NEWS article: ballys-intralot-to-buy-evoke

Greek gambling company Bally's Intralot has agreed to acquire UK gambling company evoke plc in an all-share transaction, with an offer price of 52 pence per share, a 30% premium over Thursday's closing price, for a total consideration of approximately £243 million ($326 million).

Following the announcement, evoke's shares surged 15% to 46 pence on Friday.

The industry had anticipated the sale of evoke as early as late 2025. At that time, the company warned investors that due to the upcoming increase in UK gambling taxes, it would incur an additional cost of approximately £135 million ($180 million) per year, necessitating significant cost cuts. At the end of March, evoke's William Hill, which it acquired from Caesars Entertainment in 2022 for £2.2 billion ($2.9 billion), announced the closure of 200 UK betting shops to tighten spending.

According to NEXT.io, Bally's CEO Robeson Reeves said the company has no intention of selling any part of evoke. "We want the entire group," Reeves said in a conference call after the acquisition announcement. "I have repeatedly stressed that we have no intention of selling any assets. I think the international assets are the most attractive because they bring diversification to our combined group and truly give us a pan-European presence." Reeves also mentioned that if an attractive opportunity arises, selling part of evoke's assets could be considered, but it is not the plan. "We like evoke's business. We believe that together we will be stronger and can truly grow the business and achieve economies of scale."

evoke is the former online poker giant 888 Holdings, which officially adopted the new name (note all lowercase) two years ago after shareholders almost unanimously approved the rebranding. Previously, 888 was one of the most well-known brands in the online gambling world, but its brand recognition has almost disappeared in the US, and the company no longer only owns the 888 brand, but also the UK giant William Hill and Mr. Green.

888's poker platform still provides technical support for WSOP Online, but this may change within the next year or two. GGPoker acquired WSOP in 2024 and took over the operation of the series last year. This year is the final year of the WSOP-888 software contract. GGPoker may not immediately take over the WSOP Online platform as it still faces regulatory hurdles. GGPoker has been planning to enter the US market for some time and has obtained approvals in some states, so the transition of WSOP Online's software platform seems to be only a matter of time.