William Hill expands its business in the United States
William Hill counts as one of the largest bookmakers and online casino in Europe. With revenues exceeding one billion pounds, the company has seen how the corona virus pandemic has reduced its operations in Great Britain, its main market, and in Europe considerably. With the gradual opening of the market in the United States to online gambling, William Hill has not missed the opportunity to expand its operations in various North American states.
The Capital One Arena is home to the professional ice hockey team Washington Capitals. William Hill has installed betting terminals in this multi-sports hall as part of its expansion in the United States. ©oskaline/Pixabay
Bad times for betting shops
The blow due to the economic crisis caused by the corona virus has been hard, for William Hill and the vast majority of gambling operators with physical establishments.
In the United Kingdom, with figures of infected with the virus among the highest in Europe, the pandemic is far from being controlled and a resurgence of cases is expected when winter arrives. The uncertainty as to whether local betting and gaming establishments should or should not open it does not favor an industry that has seen business shrink . Thousands of direct jobs , and many more indirect, are in danger.
In fact, William Hill has revealed plans to close 119 of its physical premises , although the figures in this first half of the year have not been entirely bad for the British giant. In a press release Ulrik Bengtsson, chief executive of William Hill, welcomed the efforts during these difficult months.
“I am delighted with William Hill's performance in these difficult times. Our team has been extraordinary, supporting each other and our clients throughout the pandemic, and I would like to thank them for their continued efforts.”
In fact, from William Hill it would have been announced that after the results of the first half of the year they would be at the disposal of return funds borrowed by the government to defray the employment regulation files open. With a successful control of spending, online gambling is growing while physical establishments will continue to languish because of the pandemic.
Expansion in the United States
Now that sports betting is being legalized state by state, gradually, in the US, William Hill is looking for its opportunity. Since 2018, and thanks to a famous legal case that opened the doors to the betting business in the state of New Jersey, there have been interesting movements in this regard. From William Hill is aimed at the states of Nevada, Illinois, Colorado and Washington DC .
According to some information, although in 2018 the British betting market contributed 85% to the company's profits, today it would have been reduced to 61% . The reasons for this reduction are several. Among the most important would be the betting limits imposed on the terminals and also the prohibition on the use of credit cards . Therefore, and given this situation, expansion in North America seems more than necessary; it would be the logical step.
Businesses in Colorado, Nevada and Washington DC
In Colorado, where licenses for gaming operators began to be issued only last February, William Hill has rushed to launch a mobile option for residents of the state and it has opened betting points at two tribal casinos. These moves have been very well calculated for the beginning of the professional leagues season.
In Nevada, the agreement with Eldorado Resorts, the current owner of the well-known Caesars Casinos , makes Willim Hill the primary partner not only for sports betting operations and terminals, but also for the options that are being shuffled of online games . With the purchase of CG Technology, one of the main betting operators in the state of Nevada, William Hill would have been consolidating its position as one of the foreign operators of greater success in the North American market .
The Capital One Arena of Washington DC, where the Washington Wizards of the NBA and the Washington Capitals of the NHL play, has become thanks to the terminals installed by William Hill in the first sports hall of the country in counting with sports betting operations . Although the facilities are still provisional, it is expected that the British company will soon have a fixed location inside the sports complex.
At the beginning of the year it had already been announced the according to CBS Sports network to become an exclusive provider of odds, so important for betting. CBS Sports Digital would have 80 million users a month. With other states in the process of legalizing or about to implement sports betting, cases of Iowa or Illinois, for William Hill the future looks promising in the country where dreams come true.
