William Hill retail revenue slumps after UK crackdown on terminals
By Frank Prenesti
Date: Thursday 21 Nov 2019
(Sharecast News) - Betting firm William Hill on Thursday reported a slump in retail betting after a UK government crackdown on addictive gambling machines.
Retail like-for-like net revenue fell 16% for the 17-weeks to October 29 after the company shuttered 700 shops in response to a cut in stakes on fixed-odds betting terminals to £2 from £100, the company said in a trading statement.
Total revenue for the period grew a marginal 1%, helped by a 60% rise in the US as the company snared punters after the deregulation of sports betting in 2018.
On a like-for-like basis gaming net revenue fell 39%, offset by a 13% rise in sportsbook betting.
US expansion net revenue tripled as more states opened their doors to betting firms. William Hill said the market continued to exhibit strong growth with 13 states now accepting legal wagers.
"During the 17 week period we went live in Indiana and Iowa and we have now taken wagers in 10 states with a market share of 26%," the company said.
New chief executive Ulrik Bengtsson said the UK Online business had "benefited from a series of customer facing improvements evidenced in the stabilising market share in the last two quarters".
"In addition, we expect our International online business to benefit from a number of important product improvements that will be delivered over the coming quarters.
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