Evoke hails strong third quarter results
The London-listed gambling operator reported a 5 per cent year-on-year rise in group revenue.
UK.- London-listed Evoke has reported a 5 per cent uplift in group revenue for the third quarter of 2025, reaching £435.4m. The results mark the fifth consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth, with all three core divisions – UK online, UK retail and international – seeing improvement.
The UK and Ireland online segment remained Evoke’s largest revenue contributor, generating £163.3m. That’s a 1 per cent rise from the previous year. Sports betting revenue rose 8 per cent to £50.7m, aided by softer win margins in the prior year, while gaming revenue declined 2 per cent to £112.6m, with the 888 brand’s performance continuing to drag on growth due to a reduced marketing spend aimed at improving returns.
Retail operations in the UK saw a 6 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue to £121.7m. Growth was evenly distributed across betting and gaming, with the latter benefiting from the rollout of new gaming cabinets.
International revenue climbed 8 per cent to £150.4m despite a 26 per cent drop in betting revenue. Gaming revenue was up by 13 per cent to £137m, accounting for 91 per cent of the segment’s total. Evoke highlighted strong performance in Italy, Denmark, and Romania.
In Denmark, the migration to an in-house platform and product upgrades supported growth, while Italy benefited from localised features on 888. Meanwhile, a transition to the Winner.ro platform in Romania released “significant product improvements and localisation,” despite initial disruption. Slower performance in Spain and non-core markets tempered further gains.
For the first nine months of 2025, Evoke’s group revenue reached £1.32bn, a 3 per cent increase from 2024. UK online and retail revenues remained flat at £499.5m and £373.9m respectively, while international revenue rose 11 per cent to £449.9m.
The company has reaffirmed its full-year guidance, targeting an adjusted EBITDA margin of at least 20 per cent. Medium-term goals include annual revenue growth of 5 to 9 per cent and a 1 per cent yearly expansion in EBITDA margin through 2027.
CEO Per Widerström stated: “During Q3 we continued to execute against our strategy which is transforming our long-term competitive capabilities and building a more efficient and profitable business”.
He added: “We continue to execute our turnaround with vigour and are making good progress against our plans to position Evoke for long-term success and significant value creation”.
Notably absent from the trading update was any mention of the anticipated UK gambling tax increase. It’s been reported that Evoke is already considering closing up to 200 William Hill betting shops, potentially affecting 1,500 jobs.
Meanwhile, the operator’s board recently appointed Mark Summerfield as non-executive chairman following the departure of Lord Jonathan Mendelsohn after five years.
