The Betting Warehouse
Established in 2011
Search Our Site
William Hill - 1903 - 1971
William Hill Vital Statistics
Website:
www.williamhill.com
www.williamhillplc.com
Subsidiaries:
21Nova (Formerly 32Vegas), BetMostPoker, EuroGrand, Joyland, PrestigeCasino, Ruby Bingo, SkyKings.
Established:
William Hill was founded in 1903 by the man himself Mr. William Hill. William Hill has been online since 1998.
Listed:
Listed on London Stock Exchange in 2002
Platforms:
Sports, Casino, Poker, Games, Vegas, Live Casino, Skill, Bingo, Virtual, Financials, Mobile.
Software Providers:
Sports – To be confirmed
Casino - To be confirmed
Poker - To be confirmed
Games - To be confirmed
Vegas - To be confirmed
Live Casino - To be confirmed
Skill - To be confirmed
Bingo - To be confirmed
Virtual - To be confirmed
Financials - To be confirmed
Mobile - To be confirmed
Holding Company:
WHG (International) Limited and WHG Trading Limited.
William Hill Online is the UK’s most profitable online bookmaker. 71% is owned by WHG, 29% owned by Playtech and they employ 19,600 staff in the UK, Ireland, Israel and Bulgaria.
Country of Operation:
Gibraltar/UK
Licenses:
Licensed by the Government of Gibraltar and regulated by the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner .
Methods of Payment:
Visa, Mastercard, Visa Electron, Delta, Maestro, Solo, Bank Transfer, Cheque, Quick Cash, Neteller, Postal Order, PayPal, Skrill (Moneybookers), Click2Pay, ClickAndBuy, PaySafeCard, Ukash, Local Bank Transfer, WebMoney, Przelewy24, Sofortüberweisung, Giropay, Nordea, Abaqoos, iDEAL, Moneta.ru, InstaDebit, Poli, Euteller, Speedcard, Fundsend, eKonto, Boleto Bancario, eWire, Eps, Multibanco, Linea Abierta, BankLink, Teleingreso, Gluepay, CashU, Mistercash, UseMyBank.
Accepted Currencies:
Australian Dollar (AUD), Canadian Dollar (CAD), Swiss Franc (CHF), Danish Krone (DKK), Pounds Sterling (GBP), Hong Kong Dollar (HKD), Japanese Yen (JPY), Swedish Krona (SEK), Singapore Dollar (SGD), US Dollar (USD), EURO (EUR).
Address:
William Hill
Greenside House
50 Station Road
Wood Green
London N22 7TP
UK
Email:
customerhelp@williamhill.co.uk
Telephone:
Tel: +44 020 8918 3600
William Hill Screenshot
About William Hill
William Hill was founded in 1903 by the man himself Mr. William Hill. They were listed on the stock market in 2002. Their financial results in 2003 showed that they had benefitted from a combination of the 2002 World Cup and the scrapping of betting tax in the UK. They reached record profits for the company with a pre-tax profit of £141.4m. William Hill were promoted to FTSE100 in April 2004. In June 2004 William Hill’s Chief Executive David Harding sold his stock worth £5.2 million, almost his entire shareholding. This resulted in the market confidence in William Hill declining as cynics believed that he was getting out whilst the going was good. In the Defence of Harding, it later transpired that the funds had been raised as part of a divorce settlement. In August 2004 William Hill were named as the FTSE 100’s best performer, however after an increase in operating costs and a run of unfavourable results they were named as the worst performer in a weakening FTSE100 in November 2004.
In 2005 William Hill agreed a deal with Stanley Leisure worth £504m which included the acquisition of 624 of Stanley Leisure’s betting shops. This deal put William Hill as Britain’s biggest bookmaker overtaking Ladbrokes and left William Hill with 2237 betting shops. Later that year William Hill agreed to sell 48 of its betting shops to Tote Bookmakers for £20m. This move was to satisfy the ruling of the Office of fair Trading due to the acquisition of Stanleybet.
In 2006 William Hill took a prudent move to exclude the US market from its gambling site due to blurred regulations. It transpired to be a smart move as rival Sportingbet was hit massively in the US market which included the arrest of its director.
Both William Hill and Ladbrokes were prevented from making a bid on the government owned bookmaker, The Tote due to competition rules. Subsequently it was Betfred who sealed the deal in the acquisition of Tote in July 2011.
In November 2007 William Hill won a licence to open betting shops in Spain in a joint venture with Codere. William Hill’s rival Ladbrokes failed to secure a licence. This was not a great success for William Hill.
In 2009 William Hill closed 14 of its betting shops in the Republic of Ireland due to the pressure of the recession. During this time William Hill also refinanced its debt with a £350m rights issue which was underwritten by Citigroup. Ralph Topping, William Hills chief executive also threatened to move William Hill’s internet operations to Gibraltar if the government did not relax its tax liabilities. Following through with this threat William Hill moved their operations to Gibraltar later that year. Adding to the drama William Hill also faced court action from 32Red regarding infringement claims of its 32Vegas brand. William Hill later changed the name 32Vegas to 21Nova after the court ruled in favour of 32Red. See full details of the court case here.
The Betting Exchange Argument.
In 2002 John Brown (William Hill’s Managing Director at the time) presented an argument for the illegality of betting exchanges such as Betfair and Betdaq. He insisted that under UK's 1963 Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act, bookmakers require a permit to lay bets. Exchange customers lay bets without a permit. This argument was not supported by all bookmakers; Paddy Power voiced their support for the existence of betting exchanges, whilst Victor Chandler reported that his only gripe was that he hadn’t thought of the concept himself. Ladbrokes however, were supportive of Brown’s argument. The argument was not initially acknowledged by the UK government who did not take any action on the existence of betting exchanges. John Brown accused the Government of a “dereliction of duty”. The argument of John Brown was later looked at by a committee of peers and MP’s in March 2004 after allegations of betting exchanges being used by sports personalities to abuse the system. Jockeys Kieren Fallon, and Sean Fox, were both indirectly accused of deliberately losing races.
In May 2005 Betfair secured a Maltese Gambling Licence enabling Betfair, not only to supply online poker but it was also a prudent move which would allow Betfair to operate its betting exchange from Malta if the UK government chose to implement stricter gambling legislation regarding betting exchanges. This never did materialise as the UK government deemed Betfair to be legal. In November 2005 William Hill gave up the ghost and moved with the times using betting exchanges to their advantage. They sidelined on-course bookies as their hedging policy and instead began to use betting exchanges themselves.
Related Pages
Comments
We encourage our visitors to leave feedback about their experiences of gambling providers. If you have any useful information regarding current promotions of this gambling provider or if they are the subject of interesting news please let our visitors know by posting in the comments box below.
You are viewing the text version of this site.
To view the full version please install the Adobe Flash Player and ensure your web browser has JavaScript enabled.
Need help? check the requirements page.
Enter your posts here.
Canada’s Score Media Inc. has signed a partnership with UK bookmaker William Hill, which will allow UK-based users of the company’s ScoreMobile FC app to bet on live football matches at the touch of a button.
.
The ScoreMobile FC free-to-download app allows customers to access information such as live scores, stats and standings from over one hundred football leagues and competitions across the world.
.
The deal with William Hill will enable ScoreMobile FC users to place bets with their iPhone or BlackBerry smartphones via an integrated William Hill mobile tab. In addition, Windows Phone users will soon be able to access the service.
.
“The ScoreMobile FC app allows our users to keep right up-to-date with the scores in more than 100 leagues across the globe – and now they can place a seamless bet via the UK’s number one bookmaker, William Hill,” said Benjie Levy, executive vice president and chief operating pfficer of Score Media Inc. “We’re really excited about this new partnership – and we believe the integration of betting into our app makes ScoreMobile FC a must have for all football fans across the UK.”
.
Score Media’s core business is the Score Television Network, a national television service providing sports news, information, highlights and live event programming in more than 6.8m homes across Canada. ScoreMobile FC is one of three mobile apps from Score Media, alongside ScoreMobile and SportsTap, which together receive some 3.6m unique visitors every month.
.
“We’re delighted to be partnering with ScoreMobile FC, an innovative product with huge relevance for our own customer base,” said William Hill’s head of UK affiliation David Bazak. “Being able to stay up-to-date with the latest news, statistics and scores is crucial during live in-play betting, which makes ScoreMobile FC a perfect companion for William Hill and our customers.”
.
Source - Gaming Inteligence.
William Hill extends live casino offering with Evolution.
.
UK bookmaker William Hill has extended its live casino offering with live dealer gaming specialist Evolution Gaming, with the launch of a new dedicated VIP area exclusively for William Hill customers.
.
Hosted at Evolution’s production studios, the VIP area has been designed and branded to William Hill specifications, and features high-quality interior design, décor and mood lighting in an effort to replicate the look-and-feel of a premium, VIP-focused land-based casino.
.
The VIP area will be staffed by a team that includes both native speaking English dealers and native speaking English, Spanish and Cantonese VIP Hosts, all attired in William Hill corporate uniforms.
.
“This is another major investment for William Hill in online, and part of our strategy to deliver further incremental revenue from this growing sector,” said Colin Cole-Johnson, William Hill’s eGaming director. “This latest move underlines our commitment to delivering the best and most realistic live gaming experience online for all customer segments. Central to that commitment is closing the gap between the online and land-based casino worlds.”
.
Evolution said that the presence of online VIP Hosts is a unique feature, with VIP Hosts on-hand to answer in real-time via live video feed, internet chat or via phone any questions players may have.
.
The hosts can also organise exclusive table bookings and instantly award credits or refunds to customers’ accounts. All hosts have been hand picked from land-based venues to deliver a service that mirrors the VIP service found in land-based casinos.
.
Customers visiting the William Hill VIP area can choose from dedicated live roulette, blackjack and baccarat tables. A further seven dedicated live blackjack tables are also available, while space for further expansion has been factored into the studio plan.
.
“William Hill was the first to take a dedicated environment at our studios,” said Svante Liljevall, chief operating officer of Evolution. “They are now extending their dedicated area to maximise the hugely exciting potential of highly branded and expertly managed online service delivery.
.
“For us, William Hill is the model client – they are always keen to exploit new ideas, which in turn gives us the opportunity to create better and better online services. Together we really are pushing forward the boundaries of what is possible in live online gaming.
.
Source - Gaming Intelligence.
William Hill PLC said it is confident about its prospects for the year ahead as it reassured analysts on Friday that gaming regulators would approve the company's $53 million purchase of three sports book operators in Nevada.
William Hill is modifying its policies regarding players who reside in Australia.
.
William Hill and their affiliated brands will no longer accept new registrations from players registered in Australia. For the moment, however, on-going activities from existing customers registered in Australia will continue as normal and related revenue will be paid accordingly.
In January 2012 The television operator Racing UK signed four individual contracts, each for a one year deal which will see Racing UK have a premium partnership with Coral, Ladbrokes, William Hill and Sky. Each of these established companies will receive a significant amount of advertising coverage in the deal over the next 12 months.
William Hill to Sponsor FA Cup
William Hill has become a sponsor of the FA Cup, a two-and-a-half year deal has been agreed, running through to the end of The FA Cup and FIFA World Cup in 2014. See Full article at www.thefa.com/TheFA/NewsAndFeatures/2012/William-Hill
Rebel managers at William Hill Online in Israel have offered staff incentives to walk out during October 2011. This rekindled fears regarding the partnership between William Hill and Israel based Playtech who own 29% of William Hill. This issue was said to be raised over rumours that the Israel operations would be moved to Gibraltar. Staff were told that to keep their local jobs they must support their managers. William Hill executive, Henry Birch dampened the speculation insisting that William Hill were committed to Israel and had no intention of relocating to Gibraltar. Eyal Sanoff, the former head of the Israeli office in Tel Aviv, and good friend of Teddy Sagi the founder of Playtech is thought to have been retaliating after requests from the London office to have full access to their computer system. Mr. Sanoff has since resigned and William Hill are taking legal action against him for blocking an audit of the internal systems. Six IT managers are also facing disciplinary for sabotaging the computer systems. This disruption also escalated to Manila and Bulgaria where walkouts were also taking place. Despite possible strains between William Hill and Playtech, under the terms of the agreement William Hill have the option buy back Playtech’s 29% shares between 2013 and 2015. Tensions between the two companies were first instigated in February 2011 when William hill blocked Playtech from merging with Ladbrokes.
On 19th September the mobile phone gaming company Probability PLC confirmed that they are in “preliminary discussions” with William Hill. William Hill has up until 17th October 2011 to either place a bid regarding a merger or acquisition or announce that it no longer has an interest in making an offer. However there is speculation that William Hill may consider raising the bar and making a bid for a more prominent rival such as bwin.party.