Online casino operator William Hill disappointed investors

The last year 2016 will surely not be a year of success or at least a positive overall development with the British bookmaker and online casino operator William Hill, because too many problems and persisting difficulties were a common thread throughout the 12 months. Already at the end of the first quarter of 2016, the stockholders had to swallow the first bitter pill when the company came out with a profit warning. For a long time this development was classified by William Hill as a temporary and soon to be tackled problem and the board spoke again and again about the upcoming turnaround. However, the reorganization of the Group and the increase in profitability do not appear to be as straightforward as the now published financial update disappointed investors once again, continuing the negative trend of the past year. Despite the already downward revised figures for the 2016 financial year, the profit for the past 12 months at William Hill from the online casino business and the sports betting area will only be at the lower end of the newly prognosticated numbers and will amount to around 260 million pounds Amount. This is disappointing for investors, as before, there was always talk of an improvement in the overall business on the part of the company.

A turbulent year lies behind William Hill

Not only the profit warning for the whole of last year, which was generated by the online sales of online gambling machines and sports betting, was brought to the headlines by William Hill as well as takeover and fusion rumors Again part of the reporting. Thus the 888holding, together with the Rank Group, tried, in a 3-way fusion, to squeeze the company into a huge conglomerate and form a gigantic gambling company. As William Hill was able to prevent this, he stepped forward and tried to convince himself of a merger with Amaya, the Canadian company that owns the two poker brands Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars. In this case, William Hill’s own investors did not cooperate with each other and interfered at an early stage with further discussions on the merger of both companies. However, the British online casino operator received the most serious blow with the departure of CEO James Henderson, who had to leave the company in the course of the profit problems and until today no new successor for this position was found. For months now, Philip Bow cock has been holding the reins at William Hill in his hand and trying to steer the company back into healthy water, with moderate success. If the problem is not resolved this year, and investor expectations are not met, the likelihood of a takeover by the competition will continue to grow, because the owners of the shares will not be left alone with perseverance slogans.

William Hill also withdraws from the Czech Republic

In the foreign markets, too, there is no really positive news about the one-time branch Prime Minister, William Hill. As the company announced, the Czech gambling sector will turn its backside in the future and adjust its offer of online sports betting and online casino as soon as possible. Customers in the Czech Republic were now sent an email to clear their customer accounts, and partners should also discontinue all marketing measures in the country. This announcement took place only a few days after the entry into force of the new law on gambling, which was launched in the summer of last year and is intended to regulate the local gambling market. Since the beginning of this year, companies that want to run gambling services in the Czech Republic, such as online casinos or casinos, have to apply for a license and be allowed to be active here. The state requires 35 per cent of the stores with game machines and 23 per cent of the profit achieved in sports betting. The profit margin seems to be too low for William Hill, so the company has not yet applied for a license in the Czech Republic, but this can still happen if the company still thinks differently.