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An unpredictable start to the Premier League season has helped William Hill’s owner score higher profits, the gambling group revealed yesterday. It said it now expected to deliver underlying full-year profits ahead of market expectations of £362million. Shares rose 2.2 per cent, or 0.9p, to 42.5p. Evoke said revenues during the period rose 5 per cent to £435million compared to last year. That was helped by online sports betting, up 8 per cent, boosted by weaker win margins in the year before. There was a similar trend in betting shops, where sports revenues grew by 6 per cent. Bookies tend to do less well when favourites, heavily backed by punters, win. Back in August and September 2024, favourites were consistently winning Premier League matches. But the start of this season has seen success for little-fancied sides such as Sunderland and Bournemouth, rubbing shoulders with the more established names. Champions Liverpool have suffered an alarming drop-off in form in recent weeks, with a string of defeats. Most of that run has taken place after September – too late to be included in Evoke’s third-quarter performance. Evoke, which also operates the 888 brand, said the overall revenue increase represents the fifth consecutive quarter of growth as it continues its turnaround plan. Chief executive Per Widerstrom said: ‘We continued to execute against our strategy, which is transforming our long-term competitive capabilities and building a more efficient and profitable business.’ The figures come after the company recently said it was considering potential store closures if it were hit by higher taxes in next month’s Budget. The Sunday Times reported that it could close as many as 200 shops in a move that could affect as many as 1,500 workers. Government officials have been consulting on gambling taxation in recent months, with fears across the sector that Rachel Reeves might increase its overall tax bill as part of efforts to address the state’s fiscal black hole. This week, research commissioned by the Betting & Gaming Council found that proposed tax hikes risk the loss of 40,000 jobs and could divert £8.4billion to the black market. However, the claims were yesterday contradicted by Stewart Kenny, former boss of gambling business Paddy Power, who told MPs on the Treasury select committee that the companies were ‘scaremongering’.
