William Hill and 888 Owner Nears New Era Under Bally’s

Two of the most familiar names in UK online casino and betting are edging closer to a change of ownership. Shareholders on both sides of the Bally’s Intralot takeover of evoke, the parent company of William Hill and 888, have now voted overwhelmingly in favour of the deal, leaving only a handful of regulatory boxes left to tick before it can complete.

What’s been released

The vote took place at Bally’s Intralot’s annual general meeting on 17 September, where
the Athens-listed company confirmed the plan to purchase evoke for 52p per share, valuing the William Hill owner at £243.1m
. The result was emphatic:
99.585% of Bally’s Intralot shareholders approved the takeover, with just 0.415% voting against
, and
this broadly matched evoke’s own AGM result from 17 August, where 99.63% voted in favour
.

Under the terms agreed back in June,
Evoke shareholders will receive 0.537 new Bally’s Intralot shares for each Evoke share, with a limited cash alternative also available
, and
the cash option is capped at £117.1 million overall
. If the deal completes as planned, it will bring William Hill’s UK retail and online operations together with 888’s casino and poker business, plus the Mr Green brand, under a single new owner for UK players.

What’s changed

Approval from both sets of shareholders clears one of the last major hurdles.
The takeover now just needs to clear a few more regulatory approvals before it can go ahead
, and
a Gibraltar court still has to sanction the scheme once the remaining conditions are resolved
. Companies on both sides continue to point to the same completion window, with
Bally’s Intralot leadership well on track to acquire LSE-listed evoke by either Q4 2026 or Q1 2027
. Once that happens,
evoke will delist from the London Stock Exchange
, closing the chapter on a company that was once part of the FTSE 250 under its former name, 888 Holdings.

Where it fits

The backdrop to the deal is the pressure UK operators have been under since last year’s tax changes. Evoke’s board began looking for a buyer after
initiating a strategic review of its business in December 2025 following the UK government’s increase in Remote Gaming Duty from 21% to 40%, which took effect on 1 April this year
. That squeeze has already reshaped William Hill’s presence on the high street, with the company having
accelerated the closure of William Hill retail outlets this year, confirming that 200 more shops would shut in March
.

For Bally’s Intralot, the appeal lies in scale rather than store closures. Company leadership has previously argued that
the current market dislocation presents a significant opportunity for consolidation
in the UK, and if the acquisition goes through it would
make Bally’s the UK’s second-largest online casino and fourth-largest online sports betting operator
. For players who use William Hill or 888 today, the practical impact should be gradual rather than immediate, but this deal is one to watch as it heads toward its court sanction and eventual completion, since it marks one of the biggest ownership shifts in the UK online casino market this year.

Sources

• SBC News – Bally’s Intralot’s Intralot-evoke takeover on schedule as both shareholder votes cleared
• Northeast Times – Bally’s Intralot Shareholders Back £243M Purchase Of William Hill Owner Evoke
• CasinoBeats – Bally’s Intralot Agrees to Acquire Evoke, Including William Hill & 888 Brands
• Yogonet International – Bally’s Intralot reaches $326 million deal to acquire William Hill and 888 owner Evoke
• European Gaming – Evoke shareholders approve Bally’s Intralot takeover by wide margin