Britain’s high street betting landscape looks set for a major shake-up as the parent company of one of the country’s largest bookmakers may be considering plans to close as many as 200 of its betting shops. The parent company of William Hill, Evoke, is reportedly preparing for a large-scale contraction of its high street presence, with plans to close about one in 10 betting shops as it faces financial strain and looming tax pressures. Evoke bought William Hill in 2022 for £2 billion and sources close to the company told The Times said it is now evaluating options to close as many as 120 to 200 betting stores across the UK.
That would represent 9% to 15% of the bookmaker’s approximately 1,300 locations, putting up to 1,500 jobs at risk. While the closures and the number of these have not been confirmed, they would come as part of a strategic review of its retail footprint, especially ahead of expected increases in gambling taxation in Rachel Reeves’s upcoming budget on November 26.
Evoke has stated the company is actively reviewing its shop portfolio to align with its wider goal of sustainable, profitable growth but underlined that no final decisions have yet been made.
A central driving force behind Evoke’s planning is the expectation of new gambling tax increases in the November budget.
Company leaders have warned that higher levies would hamper profitability, discourage investment in the UK, and potentially push gamblers toward unregulated platforms.
Evoke’s executives are reportedly modelling different tax scenarios to determine whether store closures become unavoidable.
A spokesperson for Evoke said: “We are mindful of potential tax increases in the forthcoming budget which would impact investment in the UK and drive more customers to the black market.
“As part of our ongoing planning, we are assessing the potential impact of different overall tax scenarios on our UK operations. This includes the difficult but necessary consideration for shop closures.”
The company is under considerable financial stress. Evoke is carrying a debt load of about £1.8 billion, much of it stemming from the acquisition of William Hill. In the first half of 2025, it posted a pre-tax loss of roughly £78 million.
Its retail revenues also declined around 2% during this period. In March, Evoke then stated it was planning cost-cutting measures of £15million to £25million for the year.
Stella David, the Chief Executive of Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, also highlighted the impact tax hikes could have on the industry and said these could lead to the closures of betting shops and potentially hurt UK investment.