Online punters boost revenues at William Hill

ONLINE gambling made a significant contribution to revenues at William Hill, Britain’s biggest bookmaker.

Having rolled out a number of new mobile gaming and virtual sports websites and apps, the firm said online revenues grew 27 per cent in the year to 1 January, the third year in a row that growth has topped 20 per cent.

Revenues across its portfolio of 2,390 UK betting shops rose 6 per cent, helping operating profits improve by an estimated 20 per cent to around £330 million.

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Chief executive Ralph Topping, who is due to stand down as chairman of the Scottish Premier League at the end of this season, said: “The fourth quarter delivered a strong end to an already good year in 2012.”

A week of favourable results at the end of November saw Manchester City draw with Real Madrid in the Champions League, followed by the same outcome for all the English teams in the Europa League the next day.

William Hill is poised to boost its online division with the proposed £454m acquisition of Sportingbet’s Australian division.