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Evoke shelled out an additional £46million in gaming duties in the first half of 2026, most of which stemmed from Britain following the Government's tax raid last autumn.

That piled pressure on earnings as the William Hill owner reported adjusted Ebitda of £150.2million for the six months to June, down 9.5 per cent from a year earlier.

It said the 'most significant change' had been the increase in gambling taxes in its core markets, notably the UK, as well as in Romania and Italy.

Remote gaming duty in the UK rose from 21 per cent to 40 per cent from April.

Evoke has been hit hard by tax increases on the industry after the Budget dealt a hammer blow to its UK business. Two-thirds of its revenues come from the UK, meaning it was left more exposed than its peers.

Evoke said it had taken 'decisive' action to mitigate the impact of gambling taxes, and had offset 'over half' of the cost increases through lower marketing spend and continued cost-cutting.

However, the impact of former chancellor Rachel Reeves's tax raid has been far-reaching. It prompted Evoke's strategic review, which led to the £243million takeover agreement with Bally's Intralot in June.

In the first half, revenue was flat at £887.5million, or up 2 per cent excluding the approximate 270 shops closed since the prior-year period. The group closed around 200 betting shops in May.

Taxes: Evoke said it paid an additional £46m in gambling taxes in the first half of 2026

Across Britain and Ireland, there were 1,024 shops open at the end of the period, compared to 1,302 at the same point a year ago, a 21.4 per cent reduction.

Retail revenue in Britain and Ireland fell by 2.6 per cent to £245.6million as a result of store closures, with like-for-like revenue increasing by 4 per cent. Betting revenue declined by 3 per cent, while online revenue rose 4 per cent.

William Hill helped to drive a 7 per cent increase in gaming revenues, while the 888 brand slipped.

Evoke's international business struggled as an increase in Romanian gaming duties, paired with a recession, failed to offset 21 per cent growth in Italy and 13 per cent in Denmark.

The firm's reported loss after tax was £70.2million, broadly unchanged.

Per Widerström, chief executive of Evoke, said: 'The first half demonstrated the resilience of the business in a significantly more challenging operating environment following substantial increases in gaming duties introduced across some of our core markets, most notably in the UK.'

Intralot's deal to acquire Evoke is expected to complete in the fourth quarter of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027.

Evoke shares rose 0.88 per cent or 0.40p to 45.90p on Wednesday morning, having fallen by more than 25 per cent in the past year.

Mark Crouch, an analyst at Etoro, said: 'Evoke’s numbers underline why getting the Bally’s Intralot deal over the line is becoming increasingly important.

'Revenue has held firm despite a much smaller retail estate, William Hill continues to perform well, and management has offset more than half of a punishing £46million increase in gaming duties through cost and marketing efficiencies.

'But time is hardly on Evoke’s side. Net debt is approaching £1.9billion, leverage has climbed to 5.6 times, and higher gaming taxes are making an already difficult turnaround considerably tougher.'

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