William Hill Online brings great profits to the company

By Daniel Johnson

William Hill recently published its six month key performance results for the 26 week period of this year to 29th June; they showed that net revenue from online gaming has increased by 24% compared with the same period in 2025.
According to a statement to the London Stock Exchange the group net revenue for the half is up 3% from last year and earnings before interest, tax and amortisation is expected to be around £135m (last years was £134.6m).

The group's online operating profit was up by 43% from last year and this was supported by a strong sportsbook performance. The doubling of in-play betting greatly helped and the sportsbook turnover increased by 59% year-on-year. This means that Playtech had an increase in profits of £12.9m for the first half of this year. Playtech have a 29% stake in William Hill.

William Hill's OTC retail division had a good month in June thanks to the World cup but a weak Grand National in April and they made a loss at the Royal Ascot. Retail turnover increased by 7% whilst net revenue decreased by 1% and their operating profit was down 8%.

Due to poor horseracing results there was a 33% decrease in telephone net revenues. The company have recently announced that the telephone division will be moving to Gibraltar due to competition from UK betting exchanges and the tax advantages which come with operating offshore.

Chief Executive of William Hill Ralph Topping said, "While it was our worst ever Royal Ascot, with a loss on the meeting, the World Cup proved to be one of the best for bookmakers in 40 years. Overall, we have seen a good group performance in the period, with a particularly strong contribution from William Hill Online."