William Hill Owner Evoke Now for Sale

Written by :

C Costigan

Published on :

12 December, 2025

William Hill's parent company, Evoke, is now up for sale.

UK Hikes Taxes on Gambling Businesses

The company's shares rose over 10% after more than a one-third drop on this week's news.

Evoke, which also owns 888.com, withdrew its medium-term targets, warning of a hit to profit and thousands of potential job cuts after Reeves increased taxes on online gaming such as casino games and slots to 40% from 21% and on sports betting to 25% from 15%.

From Reuters:

UK-focused Evoke is likely to be more affected than its listed peers as the tax hikes could lead to a big increase in its already high leverage, analysts have warned. Net debt stood at 1.82 billion pounds ($2.42 billion) as of end-June, with a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 5.0 times, compared to 3.1x and 4x, respectively, for Entain (ENT.L), opens new tab and Flutter (FLTRF.L), opens new tab.

Berenberg analyst Jack Cummings said an outright sale could work, but a buyer would inherit Evoke's substantial debt.

Previously known as 888 Holdings, Evoke purchased William Hill's UK business from Caesars Entertainment.

, opens new tab in 2022, incurring significant debt, before changing its name last year.

"It's a business that actually has some good units but is constrained by the capital structure. A strategic review makes a lot of sense given the leverage," Cummings said.