William Hill UK Witnesses Increase in Online Sports Wagering

August 10, 2017 0

William Hill Witnesses Increase in Online Sports Gambling

William Hill is one of the biggest names in the industry, and recently, the company reported that there is a tremendous increase in the internet sports wagering section in the United Kingdom. The increase is for the period of the last six months, despite the lack of big international tournaments and events this year, as well as the wider squeeze on the household incomes. The amount of stakes that players in the United Kingdom placed on football, golf, and cricket, as well as other forms of sports, witnessed an increase of 13 percent when compared to the same period during last year. The average revenue per player also rose by 9 percent, and there were gains from gamblers that were new to the gaming operator.

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The boost to the internet revenues as well as the four percent increase in the company’s dividend helped push the sales of the company up by six percent to reach 281 p. Such increase makes it the biggest rises for the FTSE 350, despite the fact that the profit of the last six months decreased by 11 percent to reach 109 million pounds. The decrease was mainly a result of the bookmaker having to pay a string of big wins for well-backed soccer teams.

The company’s Chief Executive, Philip Bowcock stated that Chelsea won 6/6 of their league matches, Arsenal, and the Spurs won 5/6. He also added that these are only some of the customer-friendly results that happened towards the end of the period at hand. Almost a year and a half ago, the shares of the company were at 400 p, but they witnessed a decrease following the worries concerning the internet strategy of the enterprise. During the last summer, James Henderson, the previous Chief executive was ousted and came in his place as an interim Chief Executive before he was installed full time during March of this year, along with a new chief of finance.

The Importance of Online Sports Betting

Attracting punters who want to place stakes on live sporting events through their Smartphones or tablets is now a vital part of the gambling industry, especially to big bookmakers such as Ladbrokes and William Hill. Both companies also operate thousands of wagering shops on the high streets of the United Kingdom. Amongst the several innovations, William Hill began business as a telephone and a postal wagering service back in 1934, but now, the company allows punters to ask for the odds through Twitter and place bets online. Last April, the company sponsored the heavy weight boxing match between Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua that took place at Wembley, which saw more wagers than any other event, except the Grand National. On the other hand, the bookmaker missed out on a consolidation that was industry wide that seen Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and Betfair combining forces to join the Gala Coral group.

Government Gets a Block Regarding Curbing The High Stakes Gambling Machines

On related news, Philip Hammond, the British Chancellor blocked the attempts of the UK government to decrease the high stakes gambling machines that UK residents can find at a variety of wagering shops to preserve the tax revenues resulting from those machines. The ministry of media, culture, and sports of Britain launched a consultation last year regarding the maximum wager of these gaming machines, which are also known as FOBTs (Fixed Odds Betting Terminals). Currently, the FOBTs allow the punters to place as much as £100 for every twenty seconds on these electric gaming machines. Many UK lawmakers have been calling to curb the maximum wagers of these machines to £2.

The Finance Ministry of Britain fears that such decrease in the stake is going to be, as it described, financially crippling for the revenues from the taxes. It seems that Philip Hammond is working to ensure that a curb to the stakes of these machines never happens. Responding to these allegations, the sports minister stated that the news circulating regarding this subject are fake. He also added that the review of the ministry regarding the stakes and the prizes is still undergoing, and they will release it in autumn.

What Will Such Restrictions do to the Industry?

The lawmakers that are against these machines state that these Machines represent more than half of the profits of the bookmaker, and those UK gamblers lost almost 1.7 Billion pounds on these machines back in 2015. According to the Daily Mail, the machines brought 400m pounds, if not more, in tax revenues. The little news of the curbing of these machines plunged the shares of bookmakers like Coral Group LCL. Also, Fitch, the Credit Rating agency stated last March that such restrictions to the maximum stakes are going to result in a boost in internet gambling, at the expense of the operators of the UK high streets.

Australia’s Queensland Government Rejects Gold Coast Casino

This piece of news is from the continent down under, Australia, where the government of Queensland has rejected the plans to build a new three billion dollar casino on the Gold Coast. The Premier of the Queensland Government, Annastacia Palaszczuk, stated that the community wants to preserve the parkland for its upcoming generations. There are also transport issues that will result from the development of this new casino, which is why the Labor government decided to reject the project.

Annastacia Palaszczuk stated that it is a unique site, which is the equivalent of New York’s Central Park, and this is why they should preserve it for generations to come. The premier also added that the ASF proposal that is Chinese-backed, which consists of a construct of five massive towers means higher rates and higher taxes for the local to fund the transportation solutions. On the other hand, the government is going to develop a brand new master plan for this area. The government spent a total of 4 million dollars on the consultation process, but the government believes that it was worth it.

The Premier stated that the decision does not completely rule out the possibility of a future expansion that might include the development of an integrated resort. On the other hand, the deputy premier, Jackie Trad, stated that any developments in the future would have limits. The developments are going to be limited to low-density developments of three stories, as this will help keep the balance between the values of the community and protecting the environment, as well as allows for appropriate development. The new master plan is going to take eighteen months to complete.