Bally's Intralot shareholders have approved the acquisition of evoke, owner of William Hill and 888. The deal received backing from 99.585% of votes at the annual general meeting held on 17 September. The price is set at 52p per share, valuing evoke at £243.1m.
evoke shareholders delivered a similar result in August, with 99.63% voting in favour. The transaction now awaits regulatory clearances and a court hearing scheduled for Q4 2026 or Q1 2027 to grant final approval. Once completed, evoke will delist from the London Stock Exchange — the company dropped out of the FTSE 250 in late 2023 and currently trades in the FTSE SmallCap index.
evoke announced in December 2025 it was seeking a buyer after the UK government raised Remote Gaming Duty from 21% to 40%, effective 1 April 2026. Management forecast significant margin pressure. In March the company confirmed the closure of another 200 William Hill retail sites.
Bally's Intralot was formed in 2025 when Intralot acquired Bally's Corporation and merged it with the Bally's International Interactive unit. The Greek-American entity already operates in the UK and has experience in large M&A. Both sides carry heavy debt: evoke reported £1.89bn in H1 2026, Bally's Intralot over €1.6bn in the same period. Majority shareholder Bally's Corporation, which holds 58%, faces going-concern questions. CEO Robeson Reeves said the debt would not derail the combined group's strategy.
