William Hill will shut 200 of its betting shops from 24 May, NEXT.io understands, in a move it says is due to major tax hikes in the UK’s Autumn Budget.
Evoke-owned William Hill will shut 200 of its betting shops from 24 May, NEXT.io understands, in a move it says is due to major tax hikes in the UK’s Autumn Budget.
Rumours evoke is set to close a significant chunk of its retail estate have been flying on social media this morning (31 March) after it appears employees were told by management the closures would be going ahead.
NEXT.io understands workers were pulled in for a company-wide call at 10am today, in which they were told about the upcoming redundancies, equating to approximately 14.3% of the business’ 1,400 total locations.
In a statement provided to NEXT.io, an evoke spokesperson said: “Following a thorough review and further to increased cost pressures on the regulated sector including significant tax increases announced by the government in last year’s Autumn Budget, from May we are closing a number of shops that are no longer sustainable.
“We are offering our full support to our retail colleagues who are affected by these closures. These decisions are never taken lightly, however in the face of rising cost pressures we must take action to ensure we can continue to invest in our core retail estate, with the right shops, in the right locations.”
Crunch time for evoke
The closures come at a time of crisis for evoke, which is uniquely exposed to the UK’s decision to hike gaming taxes as result of its crushing £1.8bn debt pile.
As a result, the business initiated a strategic review in December 2025, which NEXT.io understands could see Bally’s Intralot purchase the majority of the company’s assets with a potential side-deal involving Betfred.
With sources telling NEXT.io the strategic review is approaching a culmination soon, the shop closures announcement could plausibly be related to this.
One interesting tidbit revealed this morning is that distressed assets specialists Ironshield Capital Management LLP had purchased a 6.07% in the business.
However, the news is a confirmation of the warnings evoke made pre-budget that it would be forced to close up to 200 shops if the planned tax hikes went ahead, even down to the number.
The UK will be hiking Remote Gaming Duty, which includes online casino, from 21% to 40% from tomorrow (1 April) in a move which will cause significant changes to the British gambling sector, including sports betting businesses which rely on cross-sell.
Meanwhile, most sports betting operators, with the exception of racing, will face another tax hike from 1 April 2027 as General Betting Duty moves from 21% to 25%.
The announcement is further grim news for the business following on from the company accidentally paying out millions of pounds in jackpots – first reported by NEXT.io – which could create significant legal liability.