Evoke CEO Per Widerström says the operator’s online gaming activities are a “clear growth engine” for the group after recording double-digit revenue growth across core markets in Q3.
Online revenue jumped 11 per cent across the UK, Italy, Spain, Denmark and now Romania, after the acquisition of a stake in Winner in August.
In Italy, evoke said its 888casino online brand took a podium position in the online casino market for the first time in Q3 and is now the “clear market leader” in the casino-first segment in Italy.
UK&I online revenue growth was three per cent, with accelerated trends in gaming – up 12 per cent – offset by a 13 per cent drop in betting.
Overall group revenue for evoke, which also operates brands such as William Hill and Mr Green, was £417m, up three per cent year-on-year.
“I have now been in position for a year, and I am pleased that the turnaround of the business is working, with the first quarter of revenue growth since Q1 2022 and positive underlying trends,” Widerström said.
“We are achieving our plans to improve trading in the short-term, while simultaneously radically transforming the group's capabilities for the long-term.
“Our online business is a clear growth engine for the group and we saw a return to double-digit online revenue growth in our core markets in Q3 2024, underpinned by our focused market strategy and supported by important product investments and the results of our clearer customer value proposition and segmentation.
“I am pleased to report a strong quarter of progress as we continue to implement our strategy for success and deliver our value creation plan. We are moving decisively and at pace to position evoke for long-term growth, and I look forward to providing further updates about our progress in the coming months."
Nevertheless, evoke’s retail revenues fell by nine per cent due to “weaker than expected betting net win margins due to the customer-friendly results” and previously indicated market share losses in gaming.
Although, evoke appointed a new retail managing director in September who the company says has “identified and actioned a series of measures to improve trading in the short-term.”
Evoke began the roll-out of 5,000 new gaming machines in October and said completion of the entire estate is on track for Q1 next year.
There is no change to the expectation for the second half of 2024 to be in line with the mid-term target of growth of between five and nine per cent year-over-year.
