William Hill continues to perform well in the US market, benefiting from an upsurge in sports betting revenues. In its latest trading statement, which showed overall growth of three per cent in group net revenue for the 17 weeks to April 24 2018, the bookie said it delivered a robust US performance in the period, with strong underlying growth compounded by unusually good sports results.
Amounts wagered were ahead by 17 per cent while net revenue was up 45 per cent with gross win margin 1.5 percentage points higher at 7.7 per cent. Amounts wagered was driven particularly by strong basketball wagering coming from the March Madness competition, increased wagering on ice hockey resulting from the successful inaugural season of the Vegas Golden Knights and from the introduction of in-play tennis. Mobile amounts wagered rose 39 per cent and increased to 64 per cent of the total wagering in the period. Hill said it is continuing to invest ahead of the Supreme Court’s decision to prepare for potential early regulation by certain states.
Philip Bowcock, CEO, commented: “William Hill has had a positive start to 2018, making further progress against our strategic priorities to grow UK market share, drive international revenues and deliver key transformation projects.Continued momentum in Online and strong growth in the US have driven a good performance during the period. In the UK, an unprecedented run of bookmaker-friendly sporting results led to unusual wagering and gaming trends, which we expect to normalise over time. The sale of our Australia business has further strengthened our balance sheet.
“While we await the outcome of the UK Triennial Review and the Supreme Court’s decision on US sports betting legislation, we remain focused on continuing to deliver a great customer experience, particularly ahead of this summer’s World Cup.”