William Hill owner evoke has cited Bally’s Intralot’s status as one of the world’s largest lottery technology firms as a key reason behind its desire to be acquired by the company.
Bally’s Intralot and evoke have been in talks about a potential takeover for much of this year, with negotiations confirmed by both parties in April. An initial deadline of 18 May was set for Bally’s Intralot to make a firm bid, but this was pushed back until 8 June.
This morning, the Greek lottery technology and betting company made a bid of 52 pence per evoke share, valuing the owner of William Hill, Mr Green, and the 888 group of online betting and iGaming brands at £243.1m.
Backing the takeover to its shareholders, evoke described Bally’s Intralot as a “global leader in iGaming and lottery solutions”, and cited the firm’s creation via the merger between Bally’s Corporation and Intralot in October last year as creating a “diversified, digitally led global betting, gaming and lottery operator”.
The LSE betting group has been on the market for a takeover since December 2025. The firm initiated a strategic review that month following the UK government’s decision in November 2025 to hike gambling taxes from April 2026 onwards.
“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,” said evoke Chairman Mark Summerfield.
“The combination will create one of the world’s leading online betting and gaming groups with superior scale, exceptional brands, increased diversification, and a platform for strong growth through enhanced capabilities.
“I’m confident Intralot will be a strong and supportive owner of the business, and together with the more sustainable capital structure, the combination offers the best route to deliver long-term value for our shareholders and broader stakeholders.”
Creating a global lottery champion … and dealing with debt
The acquisition is expected to conclude in either Q4 2026 or Q1 2027 pending approval from shareholders as well as relevant regulators.
Once completed, it will mark a huge leap for Bally’s Intralot, which as stated above has its origins in the American betting and gaming firm Bally’s Corporation and the Greek lottery tech firm Intralot.
Since merging, the firm has continued to focus on lottery deals, such as a recently signed partnership with the Chilean national lottery. The acquisition of evoke will significantly expand Bally’s Intralot’s position in betting and iGaming, however, notably making it one of the biggest stakeholders in British retail betting via William Hill.
Speaking to media this afternoon, Robeson Reeves, Bally’s Intralot Chief Executive Officer, remarked that the company sees the new UK tax framework as an opportunity to consolidate in a highly valuable betting market which will likely see smaller competitors exit in the coming months due to the financial strain.
Another task is dealing with the combined debt both businesses carry, however. In its FY25 financial statement, evoke detailed debt of £1.9bn, while Bally’s Intralot declared net adjusted debt of €1.49bn as of 31 March 2026.
The duo have planned extensive refinancing efforts to deal with this as part of the M&A.
Nonetheless, both firms remain confident that their merger will lead to the creation of “a global gaming and lottery champion with scaled pan-European B2C”, and will add “significant reach across locally regulated markets”.
Soo Kim, Chairman of Bally’s Corporation, said: “We are excited about the opportunity to bring Intralot and Evoke together to create a leading, diversified European gaming champion with greater scale, resilience and operational capability.
“Underpinned by the combination of Evoke’s iconic brands of incredible heritage, such as William Hill and 888, with Intralot’s best-in-class technology and data capabilities, highly executable synergies and the ability to invest our substantial free cash flow in growth markets – we are confident that the Enlarged Group will not just be stronger than before, but stronger than ever.
“Intralot has a proven track-record of creating shareholder value through successful integration of acquired businesses whilst preserving their distinct strengths. We are confident that this transaction will deliver substantial benefits for both Intralot and Evoke shareholders.”