Evoke’s Profits Rise Despite Flat Sales in First Quarter of 2025

Evoke, the company behind brands like William Hill, 888, and Mr Green, has published its results for the first quarter of 2025. While overall revenue growth was modest, the group reported a strong improvement in its profits, showing that its efforts to streamline operations and focus on the most promising areas of the business are starting to pay off.

Steady Revenue, Bigger Profits

Between January and March 2025, evoke brought in £437 million in revenue – just 1% more than in the same period last year. But behind that number is a more encouraging story: the company’s profit margins improved significantly. That’s mainly thanks to smarter spending and more efficient ways of working, which helped boost overall profitability even without big jumps in sales.

Evoke says it’s still on track to grow its revenue by 5–9% across the whole of 2025. Evoke CEO Per Widerström acknowledged that revenue growth was slower than hoped but stressed that the company is heading in the right direction.

“We are building momentum in the right areas of the business with particularly strong growth across our International Core Markets. (…) With improved customer lifecycle management, a clear customer value proposition, new retail gaming cabinets, and an exciting product pipeline, we remain highly confident in our market position and the growth profile of the business.”

Mixed Results Across Regions

The results varied depending on the market. In the UK and Ireland, the online business saw a small dip in revenue – about 1% – and the number of active players dropped by 21%. This was mainly due to stricter rules around safer gambling. However, those who did play spent more on average, with player value increasing by 26%.

Elsewhere, Evoke had a strong showing. International revenue rose 11%, especially in key countries like Romania, where the acquisition of local operator Winner.ro boosted performance.

In retail – meaning physical betting shops – sales were down 6%, partly because of fewer bets and lower win margins. Still, Evoke is optimistic about the future here. It’s rolling out 5,000 new gaming machines and planning upgrades to its in-shop betting services.

Focus on Technology and Local Markets

Evoke spent the first part of the year moving more of its brands onto new and improved technology platforms:

Mr Green’s business in Denmark and other markets is now running on the 888 platform.
William Hill’s Italian arm moved to a new system to better serve local players.
In Romania, the 888 brand is being integrated into Winner.ro’s setup to offer better features and a more tailored experience.

At the same time, the company announced new cost-saving measures worth up to £25 million, aimed at keeping operations lean and effective throughout 2025.