by Mario Alfonsi | Published on Feb 25, 2012 | Updated on Feb 25, 2012William Hill is one of the biggest names in sports betting and online poker in the UK. Since they are considered one of the best options in online poker, a large amount of English players choose William Hill as their go-to site. That must have changed a little bit in 2011 because they saw their profits drop by double figure percentage points from 2010.William Hill is more than just an online entity which is something that most people do not realize. In fact, with over 2300 “betting shops” located all over the United Kingdom, some might argue that William Hill is more of a brick and mortar entity than anything else. The reason 2011 ended up being a year of disappointing revenue is because the retail shops had profits that were down almost 5%. The online department of William Hill was on the complete other end of the spectrum though, because they netted a profit that was 17% better than 2010. Unfortunately, William Hill doesn’t get to enjoy all of that 17% increase in revenue because their software provider, Playtech, owns about 30% of William Hill Online.Regardless, William Hill Online still did great for a second consecutive year in 2011 and they are thankful that the online revenue can help offset some of the losses from their betting shops. William Hill offered a statement on their online success, and it read, “William Hill Online delivered an outstanding performance again in 2011, recording a second consecutive year of revenue growth of greater than 20%…Within gaming, all verticals grew net revenue, with Playtech Casino up 8%, Vegas Casino games up 54%, Bingo up 19% and Poker 7% higher”Playtech and William Hill have been having a turbulent relationship lately and there is rumor that the 29% share in the company that Playtech owns may end up being bought out by William Hill. Another imminent change is that William Hill has announced that they will seek to appeal to a market that is bigger than the UK. Right now, UK residents account for over 90% of visitors to the site. By making advertising moves to other countries in Europe and around the world, they will be tapping into a very profitable sector that would be new to them. Only time will tell what 2012 has in store for William Hill both on and offline.
