Evoke blames tax rises for 270 shop closures as revenue falls 7%

Evoke, the owner of William Hill, 888 and Mr Green, reported a 7% fall in third-quarter revenue on Friday and urged the government not to raise gambling taxes again in next week’s autumn budget. Group revenue for the three months to 30 September 2026 was £406 million. Excluding the roughly 270 betting shops closed over the past year, and at constant exchange rates, revenue fell 2%. The company said football results that favoured punters early in the season cut one to two percentage points from growth, leaving revenue broadly flat on an underlying basis.