The parent company of William Hill and 888poker is in discussions about a possible takeover by Greek lottery and online gaming firm Bally’s Intralot.
Bally’s Intralot is not exactly the same as the US-based Bally’s Corp. casino operator. But the two companies are linked after Intralot acquired Bally’s International Interactive for €2.7 billion in October. The US Bally’s remains Intralot’s majority shareholder.
The Greek company is now in talks to acquire the Evoke plc online gaming operator. Evoke purchased William Hill in 2022 for £2.2 billion. Evoke also owns other online gaming and sports betting operations.
The Deal
Evoke, which is based in Gibraltar and was previously known as 888 Holdings, announced the acquisition discussions with Bally’s Intralot on Monday. A possible sale projected the company with a value of £225.3 million ($304 million), according to reports.
The online gaming company termed the deal as a “possible offer” for the business at 50 pence per share. That price is almost 33% higher than the company’s closing price at the end of last week. Evoke added that there is “no certainty that an offer will be made or as to the terms on which any offer might be made.”
The news comes after Evoke began working with financial firm Morgan Stanley and Rothschild to review strategic options in an attempt to “maximize shareholder value,” according to the Guardian. Evoke has a total debt of about £1.8 billion. Bally’s Intralot has until May 18 to reach an agreement or pull out of the talks.
Along with purchasing William Hill’s gaming operations outside the US, Evoke also owns 1,400 of the brand’s retail sports betting operations across the UK. Caesars Entertainment purchased William Hill’s US sports betting operations in 2020 for $3.7 billion.
888poker Could Be Acquired
A possible deal could affect one of the world’s more sizable online poker operators. Israeli entrepreneurs and brothers Avi and Aaron Shaked and Shay and Rob Ben-Yitzhak founded 888 Holdings in 1997. The company acquired Paradise Poker in 2002 and rebranded the site as 888poker.
Along with online casino and sports betting, Bally’s Intralot also offers lottery sales and supplies transaction processing systems. A possible deal could add an online poker operator to the company’s portfolio.
In other poker industry news, GGPoker parent company NSUS purchased the World Series of Poker in 2024 for $500 million. PokerStars also announced in February that the company’s US operations would merge with the FanDuel platform and that was completed a month later.
