Evoke Group achieved revenue and adjusted EBITDA targets in 2025, with a 15% year-over-year increase in adjusted EBITDA. However, due to the UK gambling tax increase, plans are in place to close some retail stores and consider asset sales; meanwhile, continuous actions on gambling legislation by the US federal and multiple states, tax deduction bills are hindered, and several states are advancing regulatory integration and prohibition proposals. The company's response and policy adjustments are parallel, outlining the complex landscape of the gambling industry in Europe and America. Compliance responses and legislative interpretations for related gambling companies can be referenced on the PASA official website.
Evoke Performance and Response: Growth Under Pressure, Store Closures and Asset Sales Offset Tax Impact
Evoke achieved steady growth in 2025, but aggressive UK taxation forced the company to initiate response measures:
Core Performance Data
Annual revenue of 1.79 billion GBP (approximately 2.44 billion USD), a 2% year-over-year increase, meeting expectations;
Adjusted EBITDA expected between 355 million to 360 million GBP, up 15% year-over-year, benefiting from profit growth focus and cost-saving measures;
Strong performance in the fourth quarter: revenue of 464 million GBP (down 3% year-over-year), but gambling revenue up 9%, retail gambling up 10%, international gambling up 14%, betting revenue down 22% (affected by last year's event outcomes).
Key Actions in Response to UK Tax Increase
Store closures: Due to the increase in remote gambling tax from 21% to 40% (effective April 2026) and remote betting tax from 15% to 25% (effective April 2027), plans to close "no longer sustainable" retail stores, reducing costs;
Asset sale assessment: Advancing the sale of whole or parts of the business, considering selling the Italian operations (potentially raising hundreds of millions of GBP), with Morgan Stanley involved in the assessment;
Senior management stance: CEO Per Widerström stated that the tax increase "severely damages the UK economy and player interests," potentially fostering illegal black markets, with the board focused on maximizing shareholder value.
US State Gambling Legislation: Advancements and Obstacles Intertwined
The federal and various states are intensively acting on gambling taxes, regulations, and prohibitions, with significant differences:
Federal Level: Tax Deduction Bill Stalled
The House Rules Committee did not advance the HR 7148 amendment, which aimed to restore the gambling loss tax deduction limit to 100% (reduced to 90% by the 2025 Trump Act);
Representative Dina Titus led the initiative, with 25 members co-signing, stating "should not tax unearned money, it's a matter of fairness," after the related bill was rejected in September 2025.
State Core Dynamics (Structured Listing)
Regulatory Integration and Legalization
Virginia: Did not advance online casino legalization (SB 118), but merged SB 195 and SB 558, proposing to establish a unified gambling commission (currently regulated by three major agencies); the House passed HB 515, prohibiting credit card recharges for sports betting accounts;
Iowa: Senator Mike Klimesh proposed SF 2085, aiming to bring prediction markets under the Department of Taxation, operators need to apply for a 10 million USD license;
New York: Senator Joe Addabbo restarted the push for online casino legalization, with another bill proposing to limit betting types (only retaining event outcomes, canceling prop bets).
Prohibitions and Restriction Proposals
Tennessee: Introduced HB 1885 to ban online lottery casinos, also proposing to ban online sports betting on campuses;
Indiana: Advanced the lottery casino ban (HB 1052), online lottery and online casino bills stalled due to insufficient support, lawmakers stated "not yet ready to advance online gambling expansion";
Missouri: Rejected NCAA's request to ban college students from prop betting, citing insufficient information as online sports gambling just launched (December).
National Trends
Lottery casino bans becoming a trend: Florida, Maine, and several other states followed with proposals, with bans implemented in New Jersey, New York, and six other states by 2025, with operators receiving shutdown notices.
Industry Observation: Regulatory Pressure, Companies Seeking Optimal Survival Solutions
The European and American gambling industries are facing dual challenges of regulation and operation:
UK market: High tax rates force companies to "cut off limbs to survive," with store closures and asset sales becoming reluctant choices, increasing the risk of illegal black markets, and the industry ecosystem facing restructuring;
US market: Regulation shows "divergent" characteristics, with some states advancing legalization and unified regulation, while targeted bans frequently emerge, balancing development and risk as the core proposition;
Corporate logic: Evoke's response highlights "flexible adjustment," by shrinking non-core assets and focusing on profitable markets to offset policy impacts, which is also the common survival strategy of current gambling companies.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders" gambling industry news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
Original in-depth gambling channel:https://t.me/gamblingdeep
Free data reports: @pasa_research
PASA Matrix: @pasa002_bot
PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
