William Hill (bookmaker)

William Hill (bookmaker)

Infobox_Company
company_name = William Hill plc
company_
company_type = Public (LSE|WMH)
foundation = 1934
location = Wood Green, London, United Kingdom
key_people = Charles Scott (Chairman of the board), Ralph Topping (CEO)
industry = Gambling
products = Bookmaking, betting shops, online gambling
revenue = £940.4 million (2007)cite web |url=http://miranda.hemscott.com/ir/wmh/ar_2007/download/pdf/ar2007.pdf |title=Annual Report 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-10 |publisher=William Hill|format=PDF]
operating_income = profit £265.8 million (2007)
net_income = profit £157.4 million (2007)
num_employees = 14,600 (2007)
homepage = [http://www.willhill.com/ www.willhill.com]
intl = yes

William Hill plc (lse|WMH) is one of the largest bookmakers in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are in the north London suburb of Wood Green and in Leeds, West Yorkshire. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

The company was founded in 1934. It operates in the UK, the Republic of Ireland and most recently have opened chains in Madrid, Spain under the 'Victoria' banner. It also offers betting by phone and over the internet as well as through its bookmaking shops. The internet section has grown fastest in recent years, although its telebetting call centres took 125,000 bets on the 2007 Grand National and its betting shops process more than 889,000 betting slips on an average day [ [http://www.williamhillplc.co.uk/ William Hill PLC website - see "About Us"] ] .

In the financial year ending 26 December 2006 it made a pre-tax profit of £292.2 million on a turnover of £894.2 million, producing a total profit of around 19 per cent at £166.8 million. [ [http://www.williamhillplc.co.uk/ William Hill PLC website - see "Financial Information"] ] It expects its profits to be lower in 2007 because of the abandonment of a major upgrade to its internet betting platform. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/jan/10/williamhill.gambling/ The Guardian, London, 10 January 2008] ]

The company announced in February 2008 that it was promoting Ralph Topping to be its new CEO. Mr Topping took a Saturday job at a William Hill betting shop near Hampden Park, Glasgow, in 1973 and worked his way up through the ranks. [ [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/movers_and_shakers/executive_movers/article3412608.ece The Times, London, 22 February 2008] ]

In 2005 William Hill bought 624 betting offices in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and Jersey from Stanley Leisure for £504 million. The acquisition took the company past Ladbrokes into first position in the UK betting market.

As well as its online sportsbook operations, the company also offers online casino games, skill games, online bingo and online poker, and recently launched a website covering betting news and expert opinion on the 2008 US presidential election.

The poker room sponsors the William Hill Poker Grand Prix, and the company promotes sporting literature through its annual William Hill Sports Book of the Year award.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.willhill.com/ Official site]
* [http://www.williamhillplc.co.uk/ Corporate relations site]
* [http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=WMH.L Yahoo Finance profile]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bookmaker — A bookmaker, bookie or turf accountantfact|date=September 2008, is an organization or a person that takes bets and pays winnings depending upon results and, depending on the nature of the bet, the odds. Range of events Most bookmakers in the… …   Wikipedia

  • Winter Hill Gang — Infobox Criminal organization name =The Winter Hill Gang caption = founding location =Somerville, Massachusetts founded by =James Buddy McLean years active =1950s 2003 territory =Massachusetts, Connecticut, New England, Florida, ethnic makeup… …   Wikipedia

  • Larch Hill — infobox WorldScouting type=campsite| name=Larch Hill|location=Tibradden, Dublin|country=Ireland|f date=1938|founder=Prof. JB Whelehan |owner=Scouting Ireland|website= http://www.larchhill.orgLarch Hill is the national campsite, and administrative …   Wikipedia

  • FTSE 100 Index — The FTSE 100 Index (IPAEng|ˈfʊtsiː, footsie , abbreviated Financial Times Stock Exchange Index ) is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. The index began on 3 January 1984 with a base… …   Wikipedia

  • Arbitrage betting — Betting arbitrage, surebets, sports arbitraging is a particular case of arbitrage arising on betting markets due to either bookmakers different opinions on event outcomes or plain errors. By placing one bet per each outcome with different betting …   Wikipedia

  • Fixed-odds betting — is a form of wagering against odds offered by a bookmaker, an individual, or on a bet exchange. Contents 1 Calculating fixed odds 2 Types of odds offered 2.1 Fractional odds 2 …   Wikipedia

  • Betfair — infobox company type = Betting exchange genre = Online gambling foundation = 2000 founder = Andrew Black and Edward Wray location city = London location country = United Kingdom location = locations = area served = key people = industry =… …   Wikipedia

  • Betting exchange — The term betting exchange is used to describe a form of bookmaking in which the operator offsets its risk perfectly through technology, such that the effect to the customer is that customers are seen to bet between themselves. Coined because of… …   Wikipedia

  • Virtual racing — is a recent offering from the Big Four bookmakers in the United Kingdom, along with some smaller firms. They offer punters the opportunity to place a wager on racing even after the day s race coverage, then watch the race on a TV screen. The… …   Wikipedia

  • Matched betting — Matched betting, or back and lay bet matching, (also referred in the United States as double betting) is a betting technique used by individuals to profit from the free bets and incentives offered by bookmakers. It is generally considered risk… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”