The betting shops or sobbing on the racetrack this news will not have punters weeping: the UK's largest bookmaker is William Hill. The bookmarker, said today it had tired "a run of abominable results" that had sent profits from its sports betting division tumbling.
A string of favourites romping home at Cheltenham, including the heavily backed Kauto Star in the Gold Cup, the dominance of the big four in the Premier League and a run of other predictable results had, it claimed, resulted in a reversal of the old adage about the bookmaker always winning.
Warning that profits for the full year were likely to be lower than expected – despite increased income from in-store betting terminals helping to make up for the decline in revenues from its traditional sports betting business it revealed that it had ended up out of pocket on football bets for the first time ever in May.
William Hill also admitted it was vulnerable to the effects of the economic slump and rising unemployment, contradicting rash statements from some in the industry earlier in the year that it might prove to be largely recession-proof.Ralph Topping, the chief executive, said the company had delivered "a solid trading performance in the first half, in spite of the tough economic environment and a mixed set of sporting results". He said that even a victory for a 100-1 outsider in the Grand National was not enough to raise a lasting smile.
A string of favourites romping home at Cheltenham, including the heavily backed Kauto Star in the Gold Cup, the dominance of the big four in the Premier League and a run of other predictable results had, it claimed, resulted in a reversal of the old adage about the bookmaker always winning.
Warning that profits for the full year were likely to be lower than expected – despite increased income from in-store betting terminals helping to make up for the decline in revenues from its traditional sports betting business it revealed that it had ended up out of pocket on football bets for the first time ever in May.
William Hill also admitted it was vulnerable to the effects of the economic slump and rising unemployment, contradicting rash statements from some in the industry earlier in the year that it might prove to be largely recession-proof.Ralph Topping, the chief executive, said the company had delivered "a solid trading performance in the first half, in spite of the tough economic environment and a mixed set of sporting results". He said that even a victory for a 100-1 outsider in the Grand National was not enough to raise a lasting smile.
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