Robeson Reeves, Bally’s Intralot Chief Executive Officer, remains confident in the firm’s resilience to UK taxation and regulatory headwinds as the business prepares to close its first full H1 as a new, combined entity.

Formed last year via the effective merger of Bally’s Corporation and Intralot, enabled via the latter’s acquisition of Bally’s International Interactive (BII), Bally’s Intralot has found itself subject of headlines lately after it was confirmed to be in negotiations to acquire LSE-listed evoke.

Following publication of its Q1 financial results, Reeves and other members of Bally’s Intralot’s leadership team shone little light on whether or not the firm would be putting a firm offer in for evoke – stakeholders will have to wait until 8 June at the latest to find that out.

Leadership did reveal, however, just how significant the UK has become for its business. The country is ‘our largest region’, Chief Financial Officer, Andreas Chrysos, revealed, sharing that the UK accounted for 64% of Bally’s Q1 revenue.

The company’s latest results are “confirming the group’s significant shift towards the UK digital consumer market,” Chrysos remarked.

Can Bally’s ride out UK exposures?

Reaffirming preliminary results published on 18 May, Bally’s Intralot’s announcement yesterday revealed year-over-year revenue growth of 180.5% from €95.6m to €268.1m (£232.3m).

Adjusted EBITDA also rose 231.8% from €30.2m to €100.2m. Split between B2C and B2B divisions, the former recorded revenue of €204.6m (Q1 2025: €25m) and AEBITDA of €76.7m (€8.3m) while the latter recorded revenue of €63.5m (down from €70.6m) and AEBITDA of €23.5m (€21.9m).

It’s important to note that part of the reason for this growth is the enlargement of the company via Bally’s M&A, with Bally’s Intralot’s results, complete with the earnings from BII, compared to Intralot’s standalone Q1 2025 performance.

Nonetheless, the figures are impressive. As outlined above, the UK played a key role in this, with Reeves stating that Bally’s Intralot’s “UK online business continued its strong momentum, growing 10.5% on a constant currency basis in the quarter”.

The group’s UK portfolio largely consists of iGaming brands – Jackpotjoy, Virgin Games, Monopoly Casino, Rainbow Riches Casino, Double Bubble Bingo, and the Bally Casino. It also features one sportsbook, Bally Bet, which the group has been looking to expand the profile of, such as via a deal with Nottingham Forest. It also operates a casino in Newcastle.

However, a big question mark hanging over Bally’s Intralot’s UK operations, and the significance this market now has to its businesses, is taxation. The new Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) introduced in April 2026 has been well discussed, and with good reason – it’s widely expected to bite heavily into operator EBITDA and profit margins.

“The UK Remote Gaming Duty change is the most significant regulatory shift in our market in years,” Reeves told investors and analysts.

“We have been telling you for several calls that we had a plan, that we had the margins to absorb it, and that a less competitive market would favor operators with our scale. 

“The Q1 data and early April trading confirms that thesis. UK online revenue in Q1 grew 10.5% on a constant currency basis. Preliminary April NGR was up 11.5% year-on-year. 

“Now for May, May is also showing double-digit year-on-year growth accelerating from Q1 and April in line with our expectations. The plan is working.”

The plan Reeves refers to was to enter the new tax era “from a position of strength, not retreat”. 

Hammering home that its plan has paid off, the CEO told analysts: “Active players are up year-on-year, our brands are very robust, our product is competitive, and our player base is growing. 

“We are generating more efficient revenue from a larger player base. This is precisely the environment we said we would benefit operators with our scale and margin profile, and that is exactly what is happening.”

Black market battle continues

The tax increases are understandably causing a lot of headaches for operator finance teams, and others for that matter. 

It’s been public knowledge for some time that major operators are planning on cutting marketing budgets, with Flutter Entertainment making this a reality by cutting jobs at its Paddy Power marketing team earlier this year.

However, a silver lining for the UK betting sector may be the extra £26m the government committed to fighting the black market. 

The government has also set up a dedicated Illegal Gambling Taskforce, headed by Baroness Tycross, to combat illegal gambling, and the Gambling Commission is looking to recruit a Head of Illegal Markets – though the advertised salary for this very intense role has raised an eyebrow or two.

“Often people look at the UK market in the same way as other territories such as, say, the Netherlands, which had a rapid rise in channelisation,” Reeves remarked, re-raising a now familiar comparison between the UK and the Netherlands regarding the impact of regulation and taxation on black market activity.

“There’s a big difference here though.The UK over the past five years has essentially made for a much more affordable spending climate for the mass market. So in reality, the VIPs, the massive players, they’ve already been displaced. 

“So when it comes to the black market, that they are policing it, I just wouldn’t expect as much change in market size from high value customers because high value customers have already been displaced to the black market.”

The UK is of course not Bally’s Intralot’s only market. While it accounted for the bulk of Q1 revenue, it was followed by the Americas at 18% of revenue, the rest of Europe and the rest of World at 9% respectively.

Nevertheless, the company will be counting on the UK government to make good on its pledge to fight the black market, and the competition this poses to regulated businesses like itself, and will be counting on its resilience to taxes to continue paying off.