William Hill (bookmaker)
Encyclopedia
William Hill plc is one of the largest bookmaker
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...

s in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Its headquarters is in the north London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 suburb of Wood Green
Wood Green
Wood Green is a district in north London, England, located in the London Borough of Haringey. It is situated north of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London.-History:...

 and in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, West Yorkshire. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...

 and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index
FTSE 250 Index
The FTSE 250 Index is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions to and demotions from the index take place quarterly in March, June, September and December...

.

History

The company was founded by William Hill
William Hill (businessman)
William Hill was the founder of William Hill, one of the United Kingdom's largest firms of bookmakers.-Career:...

 in 1934 at a time when gambling was illegal in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. It changed hands many times being acquired by Sears Holdings
Sears plc
Sears plc was a large British-based conglomerate. The Company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but it was acquired by Sir Philip Green in 1999.-History:...

 in 1971, then by Grand Metropolitan
Grand Metropolitan
Grand Metropolitan plc is a former United Kingdom-based company operating hotels, holiday centres, entertainment centres, public houses and casinos...

 in 1988, then by Brent Walker
Brent Walker
Brent Walker was a UK company which owns various businesses including property, gambling and pubs. It was founded by George Walker, the brother of the boxer, Billy Walker.-George Walker:...

 in 1989.

In September 1996 Brent Walker recouped £117m of the £685m it paid for William Hill when Grand Metropolitan
Grand Metropolitan
Grand Metropolitan plc is a former United Kingdom-based company operating hotels, holiday centres, entertainment centres, public houses and casinos...

 were found to have exaggerated the company's profits at the time of the sale.

Japanese investment bank
Investment banking
An investment bank is a financial institution that assists individuals, corporations and governments in raising capital by underwriting and/or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of securities...

 Nomura
Nomura Group
The formerly Nomura zaibatsu is a company headquartered in Chuo, Tokyo.Nomura is one of the major industrial and financial conglomerate groupings of Japan. Osaka Nomura bank was founded by Tokushichi Nomura II in 1919 after many successful business ventures; it was established on the Mitsui...

 mounted a £700m leveraged buyout
Leveraged buyout
A leveraged buyout occurs when an investor, typically financial sponsor, acquires a controlling interest in a company's equity and where a significant percentage of the purchase price is financed through leverage...

 of William Hill in 1997, when Brent Walker collapsed with debts exceeding £1.3bn after an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office which saw two directors given jail sentences.

In February 1999 a proposed stock market
Stock market
A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...

 flotation was abandoned due to "weak interest" and Nomura
Nomura Group
The formerly Nomura zaibatsu is a company headquartered in Chuo, Tokyo.Nomura is one of the major industrial and financial conglomerate groupings of Japan. Osaka Nomura bank was founded by Tokushichi Nomura II in 1919 after many successful business ventures; it was established on the Mitsui...

 offloaded the company to venture capitalists Cinven
Cinven
Cinven is a British private equity firm founded in 1977 with offices in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan and Hong Kong. Currently, the company has raised four funds, with the last one signing up €6.5 billion...

 and CVC Capital Partners
CVC Capital Partners
CVC Capital Partners is one of the top five largest private equity firms globally with approximately US$46 billion in funds focused on management buyouts...

 for £825m instead.

The company was eventually listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...

 in 2002. The following year Chief Executive David Harding was awarded a £2.84m bonus, making him the UK's fifth highest paid company director in 2003.

It acquired Sunderland Greyhound Stadium in 2002 and Brough Park Greyhound Stadium in 2003.

In June 2004 Chief Executive David Harding sold £5.2m of shares to fund his divorce, precipitating a share crash and wiping £75m off the value of the company.

In 2005 William Hill bought 624 betting offices in the UK, Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

, Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

 and Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

 from Stanley Leisure for £504 million: the acquisition briefly took the company past Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes plc is a British based gambling company. It is based in Rayners Lane in Harrow, London owned by Bhavin Kakaiya. From 14 May 1999 to 23 February 2006, when it owned the Hilton hotel brand outside the United States, it was known as Hilton Group plc...

 into first position in the UK betting market in terms of shops but not revenue. The Office of Fair Trading
Office of Fair Trading
The Office of Fair Trading is a not-for-profit and non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforces both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the UK's economic regulator...

 made William Hill sell 78 of the 624 Stanley shops due to concerns over anti-competitive practices
Anti-competitive practices
Anti-competitive practices are business or government practices that prevent or reduce competition in a market .- Anti-competitive practices :These can include:...

.

Amidst fears that William Hill had overpaid for the Stanley shops, the company was relegated from the FTSE 100 index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....

 in December 2005.

In 2008 Ralph Topping was appointed Chief Executive: he took a Saturday job at a William Hill betting shop near Hampden Park
Hampden Park
Hampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...

, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, in 1973 and worked his way up through the ranks. He had dropped out of Strathclyde University as a self-confessed 'rascal'.

In November 2008 William Hill went into partnership with Israeli software company Playtech
Playtech
Playtech Ltd. is a gaming software development company founded in 1999. The company provides software for online casinos, online poker rooms, online bingo games, online sports betting, scratch games, mobile gaming, live dealer games and fixed-odds arcade games online.-Playtech gaming software and...

, to remedy its own failing online operation.

Under the terms of the deal William Hill paid Playtech's founder Teddy Sagi, £144.5m for various assets and affiliate companies. These included several online casino
Online casino
Online casinos, also known as virtual casinos or Internet casinos, are online versions of traditional casinos. Online casinos enable gamblers to play and wager on casino games through the Internet....

 sites which William Hill continues to run under the name WHG.Playtech
Playtech
Playtech Ltd. is a gaming software development company founded in 1999. The company provides software for online casinos, online poker rooms, online bingo games, online sports betting, scratch games, mobile gaming, live dealer games and fixed-odds arcade games online.-Playtech gaming software and...

 took a 29% stake in the new William Hill Online entity.

The company wrote-off a reported £26m when scrapping their previous in-house system. In June 2009 William Hill backed Playtech
Playtech
Playtech Ltd. is a gaming software development company founded in 1999. The company provides software for online casinos, online poker rooms, online bingo games, online sports betting, scratch games, mobile gaming, live dealer games and fixed-odds arcade games online.-Playtech gaming software and...

 despite their partner having a quarter of its stock market value wiped out following a profits warning.

Operations

The company operates worldwide, employing approximately 16,600 people with main offices in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 and Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

, offering betting by phone and Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

 together with their 2300 UK-wide Licensed Betting Offices. They are the largest UK operator, representing around 25 per cent of the market throughout the UK and Ireland. Its Telebetting call centres took 125,000 bets on the 2007 Grand National
Grand National
The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...

 and according to the company its Betting Shops process more than one million betting slips on an average day.

In addition to its online sportsbook operations, the company offers online casino
Online casino
Online casinos, also known as virtual casinos or Internet casinos, are online versions of traditional casinos. Online casinos enable gamblers to play and wager on casino games through the Internet....

 games, 'skill games', online bingo
Online bingo
Online bingo is the game of bingo played on the Internet. It is estimated that the global gross gaming yield of bingo was US$500 million in 2006, and it is forecasted to grow to $1,000 million by 2010....

 and online poker
Online poker
Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide...

. Since the Gambling Act 2005
Gambling Act 2005
The Gambling Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It mainly applies to England and Wales, and to Scotland, and is designed to control all forms of gambling...

, gaming machines have strengthened profits to counteract falling revenues in other areas.

William Hill ran their very own cable TV channel
Channel 854
Channel 854, previously known as Channel 425, though actually William Hill TV but could not be referred to this name due to broadcasting rules, was a satellite television sports and gambling channel in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland broadcasting as a free-to-air service on Sky Digital...

 in 2004 which lasted two years, and now offer a in-house live visual broadcast direct to their Betting Offices. This is filmed in the Leeds studios and, running in tandem with the shop radio output, offers a unique service to prospective punters.

In August 2010, William Hill launched a training programme for its 10,000+ workforce to combat underage gambling in its retail outlets.

The company has been criticised by Community (trade union)
Community (trade union)
Community is a UK trade union representing workers in the iron and steel, domestic appliance manufacturing, clothing, textiles, footwear and betting industries as well as workers in voluntary organisations, workshops for visually impaired and disabled people, community-care providers and housing...

 and Unite (trade union) for its treatment of shop-workers. In particular the practices of exposing staff to risk by forcing them to work in the offices alone, and requiring staff to undertake unpaid work after the end of their working day have been identified.

In November 2008 analysts at UBS
UBS AG
UBS AG is a Swiss global financial services company headquartered in Basel and Zürich, Switzerland, which provides investment banking, asset management, and wealth management services for private, corporate, and institutional clients worldwide, as well as retail clients in Switzerland...

 noted "concern" at the Company's level of debt, which stood at over £1bn and was later reported as £1.5bn. In 2009 the company enacted both a rights issue
Rights issue
A rights issue is an issue of additional shares by a company to raise capital under a seasoned equity offering. The rights issue is a special form of shelf offering or shelf registration. With the issued rights, existing shareholders have the privilege to buy a specified number of new shares from...

 and a corporate bond
Corporate bond
A corporate bond is a bond issued by a corporation. It is a bond that a corporation issues to raise money in order to expand its business. The term is usually applied to longer-term debt instruments, generally with a maturity date falling at least a year after their issue date...

 issue, in an effort to restructure its debt.

From 2001 until 2009, William Hill paid George Howarth
George Howarth
George Edward Howarth is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Knowsley North from 1986 until 1997, and since then for its replacement Knowsley North and Sefton East....

 MP £30,000 pa. to act as a Parliamentary advisor. While on William Hill's payroll he tabled amendments to the 2003 budget
United Kingdom budget
The United Kingdom budget deals with HM Treasury budgeting the revenues gathered by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and expenditures of public sector departments, in compliance with government policy.Adjustment is achieved with the GDP deflator....

 proposing tougher levels of taxation for person-to-person betting exchange
Betting exchange
A betting exchange is an entity which provides "trading" facilities for retail or bookmaker customers to buy and sell contracts. Contracts are structured as binary options. Some betting exchanges may also offer CFD products...

s. Howarth left the role in the wake of the 2009 expenses scandal
United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal
The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal triggered by the leak and subsequent publication by the Telegraph Group in 2009 of expense claims made by members of the United Kingdom Parliament over several years...

.

William Hill Media

The company's news site acts as a sister channel to the Sportsbook, featuring online sports and horseracing intervews, features and other content.

William Hill offer a variety of interactive media formats through their shops and over the Internet. A real-time horse racing channel, William Hill Radio, has been in existence for over ten years, broadcasting live commentaries, news and previews. Various audio and visual podcasts can be uploaded from both the News Site and iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

. In June 2010, William Hill expanded to cover the sports betting sector with In-Play Radio.

William Hill broadcasts daily to its UK-wide Betting Shops - a first in gaming and betting promotion, this is produced live from the studios in the Leeds office.

Outside the United Kingdom

In 2009 William Hill moved its online and fixed-odds games division to Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

, for tax avoidance purposes. The company's online operation had previously been based in the Dutch Antilles tax haven
Tax haven
A tax haven is a state or a country or territory where certain taxes are levied at a low rate or not at all while offering due process, good governance and a low corruption rate....

, until a 2007 change in the law banned non EEA
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...

-based gambling companies from advertising in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

In March 2009, William Hill closed 14 of its shops in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 with the loss of 53 jobs. In February 2010 it announced that the remaining 36 Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 shops were 'under review' pending the possible introduction of controversial gaming machines to Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 shops.

William Hill had pulled out of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 in 2008 after just two years, a failure which cost the company £1m in wasted investment. The company's joint venture in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 ended in January 2010 with partners Codere buying William Hill's 50% stakeholding for €1, after both parties had invested an 'initial' €10m in April 2008. William Hill lost £11.6m in 2008 and £9.3m in 2009 on the venture.

In September 2009, the company participated in the bidding
Bidding
Bidding is an offer of setting a price one is willing to pay for something. A price offer is called a bid. The term may be used in context of auctions, stock exchange, card games, or real estate transactions....

 for the first online gambling licence in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, expressing their interest to enter the Indian betting market via the remote Himalayan
Himalayan
Himalayan can refer to:* The Himalayas mountain range* Himalayan , the type of cat* List of rabbit breeds#Himalayan, the breed of rabbit* The Himalayans, a band...

 district of Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...

.

Sponsorship

In 2007 William Hill threatened to withdraw its sponsorship of various horse races, in their dispute with racecourses over TurfTV. William Hill, who had been the strongest critic of TurfTV, were later forced into a humiliating climbdown and subscribed to the channel in January 2008.

In August 2009, William Hill became the shirt-sponsor of Málaga CF
Málaga CF
Málaga Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Málaga, Andalusia. The team currently plays in Spain's La Liga.Málaga CF is generally seen as the successor to CD Málaga, one of the most historical Andalusian football clubs, by being a near-identical looking football club that even shares...

, a football team in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

's La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

.

The company sponsors the annual William Hill Sports Book of the Year
William Hill Sports Book of the Year
The William Hill Sports Book of the Year is an annual British literary award sponsored by bookmakers William Hill. It claims to be "the world's richest sports book prize" at £22,000...

 award. This is "dedicated to rewarding excellence in sports writing" and was first awarded in 1989.

William Hill became the title sponsor for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party
Official Monster Raving Loony Party
The Official Monster Raving Loony Party is a registered political party established in the United Kingdom in 1983 by musician and politician David Sutch , better known as Screaming Lord Sutch.-History:...

 for the 2010 General Election.

Advertising

In May 2008, The Advertising Standards Authority
Advertising Standards Authority
Advertising Standards Authority may refer to:*Advertising Standards Bureau *Advertising Standards Authority *Advertising Standards Authority *Advertising Standards Authority...

 (ASA) banned William Hill from running a television advert which they found 'condoned gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible'.

In October 2009, the ASA
Advertising Standards Authority
Advertising Standards Authority may refer to:*Advertising Standards Bureau *Advertising Standards Authority *Advertising Standards Authority *Advertising Standards Authority...

 banned a poster and National press advert which promised '£100 OF FREE BETS'. The advert was found to be 'likely to mislead' and in breach of a Committee of Advertising Practice
Committee of Advertising Practice
The Committee of Advertising Practice is the sister organisation of the Advertising Standards Authority .CAP is primarily responsible for the constant revising and updating of the British Code of Advertising, Direct Marketing and Sales Promotion , through its Code Policy team. CAP also contains a...

 code relating to 'truthfulness'.

In March 2010, an advert stating 'William Hill best prices FACT' was banned by the ASA
Advertising Standards Authority
Advertising Standards Authority may refer to:*Advertising Standards Bureau *Advertising Standards Authority *Advertising Standards Authority *Advertising Standards Authority...

. It had breached several Committee of Advertising Practice
Committee of Advertising Practice
The Committee of Advertising Practice is the sister organisation of the Advertising Standards Authority .CAP is primarily responsible for the constant revising and updating of the British Code of Advertising, Direct Marketing and Sales Promotion , through its Code Policy team. CAP also contains a...

codes, including those relating to 'substantiation', 'truthfulness' and 'honesty'.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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