London-listed Evoke will pull its William Hill and 888 brands out of 13 non-core markets starting December 2, according to an update on the company’s customer support site.
Nine of these exits involve African countries – Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Somalia. Evoke clarified that 888Africa, which operates independently, will remain unaffected.
The company, which acquired William Hill’s non-US assets from Caesars in 2022, will also leave Vietnam, Bolivia and Nicaragua.
Evoke explained:
We periodically review the products we offer globally. In this case, we have decided to close the William Hill, MRG and 888 brands in selected African and Asian markets. Customers can continue using 888Africa across Africa and 888.com in other regions.
The operator had previously warned that up to 200 William Hill betting shops could close in the UK. Industry observers suggest that withdrawing from 13 smaller markets may help Evoke consolidate resources around its core UK operations.
Another motivation may be to reduce exposure to grey markets. Evoke has taken steps in recent years to scale back activity in unregulated jurisdictions, including pulling 888 out of certain grey markets in 2023 after an investigation involving high-value clients in the Middle East.
