Bally’s Interactive sets its sights on entering Italy and Romania as CEO Reeves promotes the Evoke opportunity

(AsiaGameHub) –   During Bally’s Intralot’s full-year 2025 earnings call on Monday (FY25), CEO Robeson Reeves laid out some of the more appealing assets the company is evaluating as part of its acquisition discussions with Evoke.  

Evoke announced yesterday that Bally’s is exploring an all-stock merger with Evoke valued at £0.50 per share. These talks follow a strategic review Evoke launched in December to divest part or all of its business.  

This review was prompted by the UK government nearly doubling the Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) earlier this month.  

When speaking to analysts yesterday, Reeves noted that the company is drawn to the scale Evoke has built across Europe.  

“We see a compelling opportunity to bring our operating model to a significantly larger business and the potential to transform its financial performance through synergies we are uniquely positioned to deliver,” Reeves said.  

“This is an opportunity we’re pursuing with conviction.” 

Evoke international opportunity a “free” bonus

When asked which aspects of Evoke’s business are most interesting to Bally’s, the CEO pointed to Italy as “an appealing market, hard to get entry, and [Evoke is] scaled there”.  

He also highlighted Romania as “an attractive market and [also] on the list”, along with Spain—where Evoke’s presence could help expand Bally’s small footprint.  

In a January note, Deutsche Bank analyst Richard Stuber estimated Evoke’s Italy-focused operations generate around £60 million in annual EBITDA and are growing at mid-teens rates. Comparable assets have traded at roughly 8x EBITDA.  

Evoke’s international gaming revenue rose 14% in Q4, and CEO Per Widerström stated in a January Q4 trading update that both Italy and Denmark delivered record quarterly revenues during the period.   

Reeves expressed optimism about the opportunity Evoke’s international division offers Bally’s Interactive. 

“We don’t necessarily understand some of these other markets as well as I would like. So we’re being fortunate in the fact that you can look at M&A with a single lens on actually essentially applying your business model just to the UK market, and you can pick up other territories free,” he noted.

UK retail still has value

When asked about Evoke’s UK retail assets—many of which are being shut down as part of its strategic review—Reeves said: “I think it’s important to have presence in retail. I think it’s a good business. It needs to work very much hand-in-hand with online.”  

However, he also noted the long-standing challenges facing the UK retail sector, from fixed-odds betting terminal (FOBT) stake limits to the impact of Covid-19 closures. The upcoming RGD and betting duty increases have further hit UK retail betting businesses, leading operators to cut underperforming assets.  

Entain and Flutter have also closed parts of their retail betting portfolios in recent months, with others threatening to do the same due to higher sector taxes.  

“Everything we’re looking at we’re being honest with ourselves and saying, we know UK online very well. So that will be our leaning. There are other factors which come into play where you get some other assets to diversify, that is an added benefit,” Reeves added.  

UK confidence as growth continues despite RGD hike 

Discussing the UK market, Reeves stressed the company’s confidence in outpacing market growth in the post-tax hike environment. Bally’s UK B2C net gaming revenue ticked up 10.5% year-on-year in Q1.  

Nineteen days into April—following the UK’s RGD hike—Reeves reported Bally’s B2C NGR had seen double-digit year-on-year growth. He also noted player volumes and total wager amounts “had held”. 

Currently, the UK accounts for 30% of Bally’s Intralot’s revenue, while the US makes up 43% and Europe 11%.  

“Our product is competitive and our player base is growing. So active players are up 7% year-on-year. While some competitors have been reducing marketing, we have been gaining players. The market share thesis I articulated on previous calls is not theoretical; it’s happening.” 

The CEO added that the current high-tax environment has created significant consolidation opportunities via M&A.  

“The remote gaming duty change has created a more differentiated competitive landscape. Operators with thin margins and limited scale are under real pressure. I have said on previous calls that we’re actively evaluating opportunities and that we will not miss a genuinely compelling one. This morning’s [Evoke] announcement is consistent with that posture,” he told analysts.  

He hinted at possible further M&A: “Beyond Evoke, we continue to monitor the broader M&A landscape. Our criteria have not changed, regulated markets, strong brand positions, accretive economics and logical operational fit. Our €160 million undrawn revolving credit facility provides genuine financial flexibility for the right opportunity.” 

Evoke acquisition to shift Bally’s Intralot capital structure  

Reeves remained somewhat tight-lipped about how a potential Evoke acquisition could impact the company’s capital structure—something clearly outlined after the Bally’s Interactive/Intralot merger closed in September last year.  

As of December, the group had a free cash flow of €93.4 million.  

“If we move ahead with Evoke we’re looking into a different capital structure moving forward,” Reeves confirmed during the call. “And as we said, we will refrain at this moment of making and giving any further insights [into] how we think about it.  

CFO Andreas Chryso disclosed during the call that the group’s adjusted net debt reached €1.493 billion as of December, up from €334.2 million the previous year.