William Hill (bookmaker)

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William Hill plc
legal form Corporation
ISIN GB0031698896
founding 1934
Seat United KingdomUnited Kingdom London
management Gareth Davis, Chairman
James Henderson, CEO
Number of employees 15,500 (2013)
Branch Sports betting, gaming, poker, casino
Website williamhill.com

William Hill plc is one of the largest bookmakers in the UK . The company's headquarters are divided between two offices in the London suburb of Wood Green and near Harehills in Leeds , West Yorkshire . William Hill is listed on the London Stock Exchange and was part of the FTSE 100 index . On August 2, 2013, the company's market value was listed at £ 4.07 billion.

history

The company was founded by William Hill in 1934, at a time when gambling was still illegal in the UK. The management changed several times, in 1971 William Hill was bought by Sears Holdings, in 1988 Grand Metropolitan and a year later Brent Walker took over. In September 1996, Brent Walker had recovered just 117 of the total £ 685 million in William Hill's acquisition costs when it was found that Grand Metropolitan had glossed over the company's earnings at the time of sale. Brent Walker was declared bankrupt with over £ 1.3 billion in debt following an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office and the sentencing of two of the executives to prison. As a result, Japanese investment bank Nomura decided in 1997 to undertake a leveraged takeover valued at £ 700 million.

The planned IPO was canceled in February 1999 due to "lack of interest" and Nomura handed over management to venture capitalists Cinven and CVC Capital Partners for £ 825 million. The company has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2002. Just a year later, CEO David Harding received a £ 2.84 million bonus, making him the number 5 highest paid executive of the year in the UK. In 2002 the company bought the Sunderland Greyhound Stadium and in 2003 the Brough Park sighthound stadium was added.

In June 2004, CEO David Harding had to sell £ 5.2 million of stock to fund his divorce. This caused the stock market to plummet rapidly and drop the company's value by £ 75 million. In 2005, William Hill bought 624 betting shops from Stanley Leisure for £ 504 million in the UK, Ireland , Jersey and the Isle of Man . The takeover catapulted the company past Ladbrokes to the leading position in the UK betting industry, but only in terms of the number of betting outlets, not sales. Because the market regulator, the Office of Fair Trading, feared anti-competitive practices, William Hill was asked to sell 78 of the 624 Stanley offices.

Amid fears that William Hill had paid too much for the Stanley stores, the company was removed from the UK's FTSE 100 index in December 2005. In November 2008, William Hill started a collaboration with Orbis (most recently OpenBet) and the Israeli software company Playtech to improve the bad numbers in the online sector. As part of the deal, William Hill paid £ 144.5 million to Playtech founder Teddy Sagi for various assets and subsidiaries. This also included various online casino websites that are still operated today by William Hill under the name WHG. Playtech received 29% of the shares in the new William Hill online business.

The previous in-house system was abandoned, resulting in a write-off of £ 26 million. When Playtech lost a quarter of its market value in June 2009 due to a profit warning, William Hill stood behind his partner.

Business areas

William Hill betting shop in Headingley, Leeds.

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Gibraltar , the company operates worldwide and employs approximately 16,600 people. Bets can be placed over the phone, on the internet or at any of the 2300 licensed betting shops in the UK. As the largest operator in the UK, the company has a market share of 25 percent in the UK and Ireland. In 2007, 125,000 telebets were placed through the call centers in Rotherham, South Yorkshire for the famous Grand National horse obstacle race . According to the company, betting shops take over a million betting slips on an average day.

In addition to online sports betting, the company offers online casino games, "skill games", online bingo and online poker . Since the Gambling Act 2005, the increasing profits that are achieved with slot machines have compensated for the slump in sales in other areas.

In 2004, William Hill ran its own cable television station for over two years. This has been replaced by an in-house live stream that is recorded in the commercial buildings in Leeds and transmitted directly to the betting offices. Together with the in-house radio station, the live stream represents a unique service offer for potential bettors.

In August 2010, William Hill started a training program for over 10,000 employees to prevent underage betting in local betting shops.

The company has been criticized by the Community and Unite unions for its dealings with employees. Above all, the fact that employees were sometimes working alone in a betting office and thus exposed to increased risks, as well as the demand for unpaid overtime, were criticized.

From 2001 to 2009, William Hill paid Rep. George Howarth £ 30,000 annually to serve as Parliamentary Advisor. While he was still on William's payroll, he tabled an amendment to the 2003 budget calling for harsher taxation of direct-selling betting exchanges. As a result of the expense scandal, Howarth had to resign in 2009.

William Hill Media

The company's news website acts as a sister channel to the sports betting site and offers interviews from the areas of online sports and horse racing alongside numerous extras and other content. William Hill provides various interactive media formats in the betting shops and on the Internet. William Hill Radio, the real-time horse racing broadcaster, has been providing live coverage, updates and forecasts for over ten years. Multiple audio and video podcasts can be downloaded from both the new website and iTunes . In June 2010, William Hill expanded its offering to include an in-play radio station for sports betting broadcasts. William Hill reports live daily from a studio in the office buildings in Leeds directly to all betting shops in the United Kingdom - this type of advertising is unique in the gaming sector to this day.

International activities

In 2009, William Hill relocated both the online business and the fixed-odds gaming division to Gibraltar for tax reasons. Until a UK-wide advertising ban was imposed on companies not located in the European Economic Area in 2007, the online sector was based in the tax haven in the Netherlands Antilles .

After just two years, William Hill withdrew from the Italian market in 2008. A bad investment that should cost the company a million pounds. The Spanish joint venture came to an end in January 2010 when the partner company Codere took over the 50% stake from William Hill for just one euro. And that after both parties had invested ten million pounds at the beginning of the collaboration in April 2008. The joint venture posted losses of £ 11.6 million to William Hill in 2008, followed by a further £ 9.3 million in 2009.

In June 2012, William Hill expanded to Nevada - the only US state that fully permits sports betting - and took over three sports betting providers there with a total value of £ 53 million: Lucky's, Leroy's and the offshoots of Club Cal Neva. Although 55 percent of the betting shops in the state were under the control of William Hill after the contract was signed, the revenue share was only 11 percent. All three chains have been renamed and fully integrated under the William Hill umbrella brand.

Sponsorship

As a result of the disputes with TurfTV over various horse racing tracks, William Hill threatened in 2007 with his departure as a sponsor of numerous horse races . William Hill, TurfTV's harshest critic, finally suffered a shameful defeat in this dispute and subscribed to the station himself in January 2008.

In August 2009, the William Hill logo appeared on the shirts of the Spanish La Liga football club as a sponsor of FC Málaga . The company also sponsors the annual William Hill Bookmaker of the Year awards ceremony. The award has been given since 1989 for "excellent sports reporting". In 2006, another Irish sports reporter awards ceremony called William Hill Irish Bookmaker of the Year was launched.

In 2010, William Hill appeared in the general election as the main sponsor of the British Official Monster Raving Loony Party . In 2011 and 2012, William Hill also took on the main sponsorship of the UK Championship ( snooker ) and the Grand Slam of Darts .

marketing

In May 2008, the British advertising regulator Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned William Hill from broadcasting a television commercial 'because of the acceptance of socially irresponsible gambling behavior'. In October 2009, the ban was extended to a poster and nationwide advertisement promising '£ 100 FREE BET'. The advertisement was classified as 'misleading' and was therefore inconsistent with the code issued by the Committee of Advertising Practice in terms of 'truthfulness'. In March 2010 the ASA demanded the withdrawal of the advertising slogan 'William Hill Best Prices FACT', as this too could not do justice to the code of the Committee of Advertising Practice in terms of 'soundness', 'truthfulness' and 'sincerity'.

In September 2011 William Hill accompanied a TV commercial with the single "A Bit Patchy" released in 2005 by the English DJ Switch. In December 2012, the advertising slogans "Best prices for best horses" and "Best prices for best teams" were banned by the ASA, as these too did not comply with the Code with regard to 'misleading advertising', 'soundness' and 'comparisons' of the Committee of Advertising Practice. The slogan "Guaranteed best odds" was also classified as misleading and thus banned by the ASA.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ William Hill: CEO Designate announcement
  2. ↑ Preliminary Results 2013. (PDF) (No longer available online.) William Hill, archived from the original on March 15, 2014 ; accessed on March 15, 2014 .
  3. ^ William Hill: Key facts ( Memento from April 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ a b c d William Hill: History ( Memento from July 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ^ Richard Davenport-Hines, 'Clore, Sir Charles (1904–1979)' In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford University Press, 2004.
  6. ↑ BRENT WALKER RECOUPS POUNDS 117M FROM BETTING STAKE OF SEVEN YEARS AGO. In: The Observer. London, September 29, 1996.
  7. ^ Paul Farrelly: SFO launches third Brent Walker fraud trial. In: The Independent. September 29, 1996, accessed April 13, 2010 .
  8. ↑ Business & Media: Business: Top 10 highest paid directors. In: The Observer. London, 1st February 2004.
  9. ^ Wm Hill defends statement timing as shares fall again. In: The Guardian. London 7th July 2004.
  10. ↑ WILLIAM HILL CHIEF BLAMES DIVORCE FOR POUNDS 5M STAKE SALE THAT KNOCKS SHARES. In: The Independent. London, June 11, 2004.
  11. ^ William Hill buys Stanley shops. In: BBC News. May 16, 2005.
  12. ^ Harry Wallop: William Hill ordered to sell 78 shops. In: The Telegraph. August 3, 2005, accessed April 12, 2010 .
  13. ↑ Rachel Stevenson: William Hill becomes UK's biggest bookie. In: The Independent. May 17, 2005, accessed April 13, 2010 .
  14. ^ Wm Hill defies relegation. In: Yorkshire Post. Retrieved April 13, 2010 .
  15. ↑ a b Casino machines save Hill after web bets flop. In: London Evening Standard. Retrieved April 12, 2010 .
  16. ↑ Interview: Henry Birch, William Hill Online. (No longer available online.) In: eGaming Review. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010 ; Retrieved April 14, 2010 .
  17. ↑ Simon Bowers: William Hill to buy in technical experts to save internet arm. In: The Guardian. January 11, 2008, accessed April 12, 2010 .
  18. ↑ Bookie's IT botch. In: Daily Mail. London, January 11th, 2008.
  19. ^ Ian King: William Hill reassures after Playtech warning. In: The Times. July 21, 2009, accessed April 12, 2010 .
  20. ^ William Hill PLC website
  21. ↑ Sam Lister: High-stakes gambling machines causing serious addiction. In: The Times. February 7, 2009, accessed April 13, 2010 .
  22. ^ William Hill 'satisfied' with business. In: Yorkshire Post. Leeds, April 24, 2008.
  23. ↑ Jonathan Sibun: William Hill unfazed by gaming review. In: The Telegraph. February 28, 2008, accessed April 13, 2010 .
  24. ↑ Staff at William Hill train to avert underage gambling ( Memento of August 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  25. ↑ Newsletter. Unite the Union, archived from the original on December 14, 2009 ; Retrieved April 12, 2010 .
  26. ↑ a b Community on Wm. Hill restructuring. (No longer available online.) Community, archived from the original on July 25, 2011 ; Retrieved April 12, 2010 .
  27. ↑ Something for nothing. (No longer available online.) Community, archived from the original on April 15, 2009 ; Retrieved April 12, 2010 .
  28. ↑ MP acting as bookies' lackey is a disgrace. In: The Telegraph. London, May 19, 2003.
  29. ↑ MP ACCUSED ON BET LAWS. In: Daily Echo. Liverpool 26 May 2003.
  30. ↑ MP quits bookmaker job ahead of crackdown; Private earnings under spotlight. In: Daily Post. Liverpool 29th June 2009.
  31. ↑ Dominic Walsh, Rebecca Oconnor: William Hill moves online betting offshore. In: The Times. August 4, 2009, accessed April 12, 2010 .
  32. ^ Paul Kelso: William Hill's offshore gambling move raises match-fixing fears. In: The Telegraph. August 4, 2009, accessed April 12, 2010 .
  33. ↑ GBGA Official Website. Retrieved January 21, 2014 .
  34. ↑ Italian gamble a loser for Hills. In: London Evening Standard. Retrieved April 12, 2010 .
  35. ^ Sale of Spain joint venture. (No longer available online.) William Hill, archived from the original July 18, 2011 ; Retrieved April 14, 2010 .
  36. ^ William Hill PLC - Re Joint Venture. (No longer available online.) William Hill, archived from the original July 18, 2011 ; Retrieved April 14, 2010 .
  37. ↑ Annual Online Report. (No longer available online.) William Hill, archived from the original on August 26, 2011 ; Retrieved April 21, 2010 .
  38. ↑ a b Richard N. Velotta: British oddsmaker William Hill gets OK to operate 159 books in Nevada. In: Vegas Inc. June 21, 2012, accessed June 28, 2012 .
  39. ^ A b Steve Green: William Hill, Affinity in long-term sports betting deal. In: Vegas Inc. June 28, 2012, accessed June 28, 2012 .
  40. ↑ Tony Paley: Bookmakers threaten sponsorship cuts as betting shop row escalates. In: The Guardian. March 26, 2007, accessed June 14, 2010 .
  41. ↑ William Hill deal with TurfTV a case of history repeating as punter power wins day. In: The Scotsman. Retrieved June 14, 2010 .
  42. ^ Sanz: William Hill deal strengthens Malaga relationship with British community. (No longer available online.) Tribalfootball.com, archived from the original on February 4, 2013 ; Retrieved April 12, 2010 .
  43. ^ William Hill Sports Book of the Year. (No longer available online.) Hampshire County Council, archived from the original on February 10, 2015 ; Retrieved April 13, 2010 .
  44. ^ ASA Adjudication on William Hill (Gibraltar) Ltd. (No longer available online.) ASA, archived from the original on January 9, 2010 ; Retrieved April 13, 2010 .
  45. ^ ASA Adjudication on William Hill Organization Ltd. (No longer available online.) ASA, archived from the original on January 8, 2010 ; Retrieved April 13, 2010 .
  46. ^ ASA Adjudication on William Hill Organization Ltd. (No longer available online.) ASA, archived from the original on March 23, 2010 ; Retrieved April 13, 2010 .
  47. ↑ William Hill Football betting New Season TV Advert 2011/2012
  48. ^ ASA Adjudication on William Hill Organization Ltd. ASA, accessed January 5, 2013 .