William Hill shares jump up 10 points

Betting shop and internet gambling business William Hill said trading was holding up well in the face of the consumer downturn.

The group, which has 2,300 shops in the UK and Ireland, described its performance as resilient after gross win - the amount left by losing punters - rose 8% in the 11 weeks since October 20 and by 6% for the year as a whole.

William Hill forecast operating profits of £275 million for 2008, which was around £10 million higher than most City estimates. Shares jumped 10% on Thursday.

Despite the solid performance, Numis Securities said it remained cautious about the company's prospects in 2009.

Analyst at Numis said: "We continue to think UK bookmakers' earnings will be impacted as unemployment rises throughout 2009." The broker cut its 2009 profits forecast by 11% to £190.7 million and 2010's prediction by 13% to £205.3 million.

William Hill also said it was in discussions with its banking syndicate about refinancing current borrowing facilities, the majority of which are due to mature in 14 months in March 2010.

Investec Securities believed William Hill planned to refinance at least £850 million of the current £1.2 billion total facility by the time of the company's final results in late February.

Investec described the current trading performance as commendable, helped by softer comparisons with a year earlier.

William Hill recently bolstered its online gaming and sports betting operation following a deal with software firm Playtech.

Playtech is supplying William Hill Online with casino, poker and other gaming software products, in return for a 29% stake in the new operation. The deal came a year after William Hill was forced to abandon a long-running upgrade of its internet betting operation - a move which led to a £20.9 million write-down in 2007 results.

William Hill
Casinos

Penny Games at Mecca Bingo

As part of its 5 4 3 2 1 promotion to help celebrate the New Year, online bingo site MeccaBingo.com is offering players four more days of cut-price bingo games for as little as one penny.
The promotion began yesterday at ten o’clock in the morning and ran for twelve hours with Knockdown cards starting for only five pence. It is due to resume today at ten o’clock for the same duration with cards for four pence.

The special promotion from the Alderney licensed site continues tomorrow with cards for three pence while a game on Thursday will only cost two pence before the promotion culminates on Friday with cards for a penny.

The bingo site is also offering players the chance to get one pound credited into their account later this month for simply purchasing a bingo card. Every player that buys a card on January 13 will receive one pound credited to their account the next day courtesy of the A Pound All Round promotion.


Bingo
Casinos

William Hill Bingo sponsors The Real Deal

William Hill Bingo has today announced that it is to become the programme sponsor of ITV's popular 2009 daytime show "The Real Deal". The online gaming site recent completed a similar campaign as programme sponsors for the games how Spin Star in November 2008.

Starting on Monday 5th January, until mid April, the 4 month deal will continue to raise awareness of the UK's most popular bingo brand and attract significant new customers. The demographic of the home bingo player and the viewer of daytime game show's like Spin Star and the Real Deal appears very similar.

The strapline - 'William Hill Bingo Thrill' is the topic for the programme bumpers shown during breaks in show, whilst the Real Deal asks participants to get their thrill by taking a gamble on whether they accept the antique dealer's cash offer, or take a risk at auction.

"For an initial foray in to actual programme sponsorship, we were very pleased with the response from the Spin Star association." said Hills spokesperson Lili Huang, "We're delighted to have this opportunity of sponsoring the Real Deal, because the programme has the potential for far a bigger audience with its current scheduling."

William Hill Bingo is now part of the biggest online sports and gaming provider in Europe - William Hill Online, and, as online gaming continues to grow in popularity in comparison to the more traditional land based format, the site continues to work with a number of gender associated charities, like Breast Cancer Care, which will soon receive significant donations as a result of players taking part in the specifically branded Pink Ribbon games promotion in the final quarter of 2008.

The Real Deal is hosted by antique dealer and TV presenter David Dickinson, and aired on ITV1 Monday to Friday between 2pm to 3pm.

William Hill Bingo
Casinos

Antigua To Benefit From Online Casino Regulation

The island nation of Antigua and Barbuda have experienced a recent surge in their online gambling industry because of a recent foreign approval from the British Department of Culture, Media and Sport regarding Antigua’s operations mean that many online casino operators are looking to set up base camp in the country.

The UK’s influence is seen as the major factor in the recent boom, and a major newspaper there is reporting a budget increase of 100% for the online gambling industry.

The UK Government has recently granted “white-listing” which applies stringent regulations to the Antiguan online gambling industry, thus making it safer and more trusted place to set-up shop.

Director of gaming for the Antiguan commission a Mr. Kaye McDonald, said: “'Key personnel, key management and key operators are required to be in Antigua and Barbuda. This is of utmost importance.”

Casinos

Dad of 4 just loses 80k accumulator bet

Dad of four Paul Greenwood has been declared the unluckiest punter of 2008 — after narrowly missing out on accumulator bet worth £800,000.

52 year old Paul Greenwood changed one of 14 soccer teams he backed in a £10 accumulator bet.

Thirteen of the 14 teams won — but in the match he switched to, his choice Arsenal only managed a draw.

The team he dropped, Manchester United, WON.

But for his last-minute change of mind Paul, of Barnsley, South Yorks, would have collected £795,000.

Bookies William Hill, who awarded him a £1,000 free bet, said: “We hope this time he’s a winner.”

William Hill

Casinos

No Snow Is Good News For William Hill

William Hill revealed that it took a record number of bets on whether there would be snow for Christmas Day following heavy snowfall earlier in the month.

According to a report in The Telegraph newspaper, the London-based firm behind online sportsbook WilliamHill.com stated that it was relieved that Christmas Day had dawned dry although it was cloudy and cold.

'Much like the abominable snowman, Britain's favourite festive flutter is in danger of becoming extinct as snowfall becomes increasingly rare in December,” said Rupert Adams, Spokesperson for William Hill.

“But we are not sorry to see no snow as it would have cost us a monster million pound-plus payout.'

To qualify as a ‘white Christmas’ William Hill stated that one flake of snow must fall in one of 14 different areas designated in the bet. For example, a bet on snow in London would only pay out if one flake falls on Buckingham Palace.

The Met Office has predicted that the weather in the UK will get colder over the next few days as clouds lift and there will be overnight frosts across the country. Temperatures will be around 39 degrees Fahrenheit although it should be slightly warmer in cities.

William Hill

Casinos