In a key highlight for Q1, the LSE-listed group secured integrations and upgrades expected to deliver an additional £15–£20m in annualised cost savings from 2025 onwards.
Evoke Plc has reported stable opening results for 2025, as it continues to tackle challenges impacting its William Hill and 888 brands in the UK and Ireland.
In a key highlight for Q1, the LSE-listed group secured integrations and upgrades expected to deliver an additional £15–£20m in annualised cost savings from 2025 onwards.
UK and Irish online revenue dipped 1%, with sports betting hit by new safer gambling measures – a trend also seen in previous quarters. Online gaming revenue rose 3%, but this was offset by sports betting struggles and a 21% fall in active players, which the group attributed to elevated promotional activity during the prior year.
This mirrors Q1 2024 (prior to its May 2024 rebrand from 888 Holdings), when online revenue similarly fell 1%.
Retail also faced challenges: revenue across its 1,400+ William Hill shops dropped 6% year-on-year, though gaming revenue grew 6%. The decline was blamed on lower stakes and a reduced win margin.
Despite these setbacks, evoke remains upbeat, banking on new gaming machines and planned improvements to its sportsbook and retail operations to bolster performance later this year.
Outside the UK and Ireland, evoke’s international operations provided a much-needed boost.
CEO Per Widerström commented:
“We are building momentum in the right areas of the business with particularly strong growth across our International Core Markets.”
“Whilst the UK&I Online and Retail performance was behind where we wanted to be in Q1, we have moved swiftly to improve some of the underlying drivers of the performance and have been seeing stronger trends in April.”
“With improved customer lifecycle management, a clear customer value proposition, new retail gaming cabinets, and an exciting product pipeline, we remain highly confident in our market position and the growth profile of the business.”
International Growth Lifts the Numbers
International revenue rose 11%, up from 4% growth the previous year. Romania was a standout, delivering significant year-on-year gains after the 2024 acquisition of Winner.ro, making it evoke’s fifth core market.
Thanks largely to its international performance, group-wide revenue edged up to £437m (Q1 2024: £431m), a 1% year-on-year increase. While this growth lags behind larger multinational peers like Flutter Entertainment and Entain, evoke reported a notable rise in Adjusted EBITDA, reaching £330m over the last twelve months.
Evoke has set a mid-term target of 5%–9% annual revenue growth, with year-to-date growth by 22 April 2025 at 4%.
However, challenges persist. While full-year revenue for 2024 rose 3% to £1.75bn (2023: £1.71bn), losses widened to £191m. The group is pinning its hopes on upgrades across its betting and gaming products to drive a sustained recovery.
Widerström concluded:
“We are moving decisively and at pace to position evoke for long-term success and to drive significant value, and I look forward to providing further updates about our progress as the year progresses.”
In other UK betting news, bet365 is celebrating great success with its ‘Sub On, Sub Off’ feature.