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William Hill parent company Evoke is set to close around 200 betting shops from May onwards, blaming the tax increases introduced in the budget as one of many important components behind the choice.
There has been hypothesis since final autumn that the company would search to close a lot of its 1,300 betting shops, and workers have been knowledgeable of Evoke’s choice on Tuesday morning.
Evoke, which additionally contains the 888 and Mr Green manufacturers, is in the midst of a strategic assessment following the budget final November, which spared betting shops from tax increases however which hit on-line gaming operators with a close to doubling of distant gaming responsibility to 40 per cent.
Immediately after the budget, Evoke chief govt (*200*) Widerstrom mentioned the company would implement mitigation plans which might contain “a significant reduction in investment into the UK, and, very regrettably, the likely need for jobs to be cut up and down the country”.
In a buying and selling replace in January, Widerstrom mentioned these plans included “the closure of retail stores that are no longer sustainable”.
Evoke chief govt (*200*) WiderstromCredit: 888 Holdings
A spokesperson for Evoke informed the Racing Post: “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 selections are by no means taken frivolously, nevertheless in the face of rising value pressures we should take motion to guarantee we will proceed to make investments in our core retail property, with the suitable shops, in the suitable places.”
It was not disclosed how many jobs are due to be affected, but a report in The Sunday Times last autumn suggested up to 1,500 jobs could be at risk, and while the number of shops affected was not revealed, it is understood to be around 200.
Earlier this year the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) said that official figures showed a 30 per cent fall in betting shop numbers since 2019, declining from 8,304 in 2019 to 5,825 by March 2025, resulting in more than 10,000 job losses.
The BGC claimed that in addition to the tax increases in the budget, which would affect companies with both retail and online gaming operations, other pressures such as “unfair” business rate regimes were hastening the decline in betting shop numbers.
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