Bally’s Intralot has reached an agreement to acquire betting and gaming operator evoke in a recommended all-share deal worth roughly £243.1 million ($327 million), bringing together brands such as William Hill and 888 with its expanding lottery and online gaming business.
The deal follows a lengthy process that began with a strategic review launched by evoke in December 2025. This was prompted by UK gambling tax increases that raised concerns about earnings, debt levels and the company’s financial flexibility. Earlier this year, evoke confirmed takeover discussions after market speculation and disclosed an initial approach that valued the company at 50 pence per share.
Under the agreed terms announced Friday (June 5), evoke investors will receive 0.537 new Intralot shares for each evoke share. Based on Intralot’s market price, the offer values evoke at 52 pence per share. Shareholders can also choose a cash alternative at the same valuation, although total cash payments will be limited by an overall cap. At the time of writing, stock prices for evoke were up 6%.
Bally’s Intralot evoke deal part of creating a larger gaming group
If the transaction closes, the combined company would become one of Europe’s biggest lottery and online gaming operators, serving six core markets across sports betting, online casino, poker, bingo and lottery products.
Using fiscal 2025 figures supplied by both businesses, the merged group would produce approximately €3.2 billion ($3.7 billion) in revenue and €856 million ($997 million) in adjusted EBITDA. The companies also said the enlarged operation would rank as the UK’s second-largest iGaming operator and the fourth-largest online sports betting business by market share.
The deal represents the latest stage in talks that remained active through the spring. In April, evoke revealed discussions with Bally’s Intralot regarding a possible takeover. A month later, the company granted an extension that allowed negotiations to continue beyond the original deadline while advisers Morgan Stanley and Rothschild & Co worked with the board.
Intralot expects the addition of William Hill and 888 to strengthen its UK position while allowing it to combine evoke’s customer base with its technology platform and data capabilities. Management believes annual cost and capital expenditure savings could reach about £180 million by the end of the second year after completion through marketing efficiencies, operational changes and technology integration.
The acquisition also builds on the October 2025 combination of Bally’s International Interactive business and Intralot, a transaction designed to provide greater scale for future expansion.
After reviewing alternatives that included asset sales and other strategic paths, evoke’s board unanimously backed the proposal. The final agreement followed several months of discussions and an increase from an earlier 32 pence per share proposal made in January 2026.
“Following the announcement of the Strategic Review in December 2025, we have been resolutely focused on how best to maximise value for our shareholders in light of the significant UK duty changes and the constraints posed by the evoke Group’s existing capital structure,” evoke Chairman Mark Summerfield said.
“Having considered a range of options I am delighted to announce the Acquisition by Intralot and believe the agreed terms represent the most attractive and deliverable outcome for evoke shareholders.”
Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim said the companies would create “a leading, diversified European gaming champion with greater scale, resilience and operational capability.”
The transaction still requires shareholder, regulatory and gaming-licensing approvals. Completion is expected during the fourth quarter of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027.
Featured image: Bally’s Intralot / evoke Plc
The post Bally’s Intralot agrees $327M evoke deal to create major European gaming group appeared first on ReadWrite.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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