William Hill owner Evoke makes Budget tax plea

William Hill owner Evoke has urged the Government to “carefully consider” further tax hikes for the gambling industry after blaming the axing of 270 shops on last year’s Budget.

Evoke announced the closure of a chunk of its betting shops in April after revealing it had sunk deeper into a loss.

The closures were expected to help offset an expected increase in betting taxes of up to £135 million a year from 2027 due to changes affecting online gambling firms introduced by ex-Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

The warning comes as Evoke prepares to be taken over by Greek gambling firm Bally’s Intralot in a £243 million deal, which it expects to complete in the coming weeks.

From April this year, remote gaming duty – levied on online casino games – increased from 21 per cent to 40 per cent of a provider’s profits.

There will also be a new online sports betting duty of 25 per cent, which will cover all sports except horse racing, from 2027, and the Government is reportedly considering an increase in fruit machine, roulette machine and other slot machine duty at next week’s Budget.

Per Widerstrom, Evoke’s chief executive, said the business “continues to show resilience” and a focus on profitability “following the substantial increases in gaming duties, particularly in the UK”.

He added: “The closure of 270 shops over the past year shows the real impact on jobs and livelihoods from higher industry taxation, and we urge the UK Government to carefully consider any further increases ahead of its forthcoming autumn Budget.”

Earlier this week, rival gambling group Flutter, which owns Paddy Power, said it was cutting around 1400 jobs in the UK and Ireland as part of a major restructuring to mitigate this year’s higher betting and gaming duties.

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