Bally’s Intralot Reveals Plan To Keep Evoke Assets After Acquisition

Bally’s Intralot has moved to reassure investors and industry observers that it does not intend to sell off evoke assets following its proposed acquisition of the William Hill and 888 owner.

The company confirmed on 5 June that it had agreed terms on an all-share transaction valuing evoke at £243.1m. This deal is expected to complete in Q4 of 2026 or early 2027, subject to gaming and competition approvals.

Speaking after the announcement, Bally’s Intralot CEO Robeson Reeves stressed that the acquisition was built around the value of the entire group.

“We wanted the whole group,” he said. “We have no intention to sell any assets, as I’ve said a few times. I find that international assets are almost the most attractive, because it creates diversification for our combined group, and really does give us a pan-European presence.”

Evoke’s International Operations Seen As Key Strategic Assets

Reeves acknowledged that future opportunities could be assessed if they created value. He stated that the company has no active plans to dispose of any part of evoke.

“If things arrive that make sense, we’ll always consider, but we’ve absolutely no intention,” he said. “We like the business that evoke has. We believe together we can be stronger and truly grow this business and have significant scale.”

Among the businesses highlighted by Reeves was evoke’s Italian operation, which he described as one of the company’s most valuable assets. Bally’s Intralot sees them as important contributors to its European expansion strategy. 

This approach suggests the company intends to preserve evoke’s geographic reach rather than narrow its focus to a handful of markets.

Acquisition Supports Bally’s European Expansion Strategy

Reeves was also keen to challenge the notion that the transaction is primarily about gaining more exposure to the UK market through William Hill. 

While the operator’s retail and online presence strengthens Bally’s position in Britain, Reeves said the deal’s appeal is far beyond a single market.

“I know people think I’m buying the UK,” he said. “We’re inheriting international businesses across Italy, Spain, Romania, Denmark and many other territories. This is saving a bunch of time and is exactly aligned with my expansion plan.”

The acquisition expands Bally’s Intralot’s international footprint and provides immediate access to several regulated European markets where evoke already operates. For management, the deal represents an opportunity to accelerate growth without having to build market positions from scratch.

Company Remains Open To Smaller Future Acquisitions

The evoke transaction continues Bally’s Intralot’s active approach to mergers and acquisitions over recent years. It completed a €2.7bn merger between Bally’s Corporation and Intralot in October 2025. 

Before that, Bally’s acquired Gamesys in 2021 and The Queen Casino & Entertainment in the United States last year. Despite the scale of those transactions, Reeves suggested future deals are likely to focus on smaller opportunities rather than large scale acquisition and targeted revenue streams.

“We’re always looking at sensible, smart acquisitions,” he said. “If I could get extra revenue plus expertise that would enhance our capabilities, I will always look at those opportunities. I’d definitely be looking at smaller operators, potentially with deferred payment structures. That could be an attractive mechanism to create scale.

“We are very careful. We’ve designed the construct of this transaction to be fairly low risk for Bally’s Intralot and attractive to evoke as well. We want to win-win.

“Acquiring evoke essentially makes us a business that I always wanted us to become.”

Bally’s has revealed that it will keep evoke assets for a period before considering selling them. The latter’s geographic reach is integral to Bally’s European expansion. Hopefully, the merger can be completed by Q4 2026.