Earnings at William Hill owner Evoke tumble in ‘disappointing’ first half

The betting firm reported a sharp increase in marketing costs and a drop-off in profit after it sold its US consumer-facing business.

William Hill-owner Evoke posted falling earnings for the first half (Andrew Matthews/PA) (PA Wire)

The owner of William Hill and 888 said earnings plummeted 67% in the first half of 2024, in a results statement it called “disappointing and behind our initial plan”.

Evoke, which was rebranded from 888 earlier this year, made core earnings of £43.8 million for the six months to June, down from £130.8 million this time last year.

Revenue slumped 2% to £862 million as it continued with a turnaround plan launched in March.

The company has been rejigging the geographical focus of the business to focus on its core markets as well as what products it prioritises, which it said contributed to the losses.

That has included selling its consumer-facing 888 gambling business in the US to gaming and betting company Hard Rock Digital.

It also spent £16 million more on marketing and said earlier this year that it would invest in artificial intelligence to make the business more efficient.

Per Widerstrom, chief executive of Evoke, said the “underlying health of the business is continually getting stronger”.

“The corrective actions we have already taken give us even more confidence that our strategic approach is sound and that we will achieve sustainable success.

“We are completely transforming this business. Whilst the scale of change is significant, it is necessary for us to deliver mid and long-term profitable growth and value creation.”

Evoke owns gambling brands including 888poker, 888casino and 888sport, as well as the William Hill shops.

It said it expects “significant improvement in profitability” going into the second half of 2024 as losses from selling its US customer-facing business fall out of the results.

The company had already warned markets of the performance last month when it said online sports betting income was knocked by changes to its operations from last year.

Meanwhile, its UK retail business, which includes William Hill shops, saw revenues drop 8% over the six months to June 30, compared with the same period last year.

It comes after larger rival Flutter, which owns Betfair, reported a 20% increase in revenues over the last quarter, compared with the same period last year, totalling 3.6 billion US dollars (£2.8 billion).

Betting firms in the UK are facing a likely hit from stricter gambling rules with new checks being trialled by the regulator.

It includes changes to reduce the intensity of online games, tighter age verification checks in betting shops and affordability checks for gamblers.

Checks will initially come into force for online gambling customers spending £500 a month from August 30 as part of a pilot scheme.

Entain, which owns Ladbrokes and Coral, said earlier in August that regulatory changes already in place in the UK had resulted in it losing some higher-paying customers.

Other proposals made under the former Conservative government have been left in limbo following Labour’s election victory.