William Hill History

William Hill is one of the largest betting operators in the world. How did this start? In this article, lawyers from Regulated United Europe would like to recall all the way William Hill has gone since its inception and highlight key events in its history. William Hill’s market capitalization now stands at over $1.6 billion, the number of Internet users has long exceeded 2 million, and land-based betting points in Britain exceed 2,000. But this is today. And it all started with a nimble kid, who on a bike with a motor drove around the neighboring neighborhoods and took bets on the workers for the race. His name was William Hill.

Bumpy road to the first betting shop

On the morning of July 1903, Birmingham had one more famous citizen. Lavinia Knight and William Hill became parents for the fourth time and named their son after their father. True, the child was still far from being known. Before the age of 12, William Jr.lived the normal life of a child: he went to school and spent all his free time with friends on the street. However, the presence of ten brothers and sisters forced him to drop out of school, grow up and start working. He first worked on his uncle’s farm in the suburbs, and then became an apprentice with The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited and began to develop a working career.

At the factory, the boy drew attention to the many workers, only talking about the past races. He also remarked that there is no person who can give these people what they want: to unleash a gamble, and perhaps even win money for a pint of beer after a heavy work shift. And William rolled up his sleeves (or rather, boosted his bicycle tires) and went about it.

Over time, so many people learned about the young but highly professional bookmaker that William was forced to replace a regular bike with an engine – their legs were too tired from regular many- kilometer betting routes.

In 1919, William Hill’s bookmaking activities were diluted by events in the country. The boy lied about his age and joined the Black and Tans. The task of this force was to oppose the guerrilla movement fighting for the independence of Ireland. William did not participate in combat operations due to his inexperience and young age, but was assigned to guard one of the significant British aristocracy buildings in the Mallow suburbs. William spent his spare time in a pub nearby, where he took bets.

After the end of his military service, William Hill began to gradually improve his lifestyle. He returned to his normal life, met the charming girl Evie Barley and married her in 1923. True, the passion for betting activities has not gone away. In 1925, Hill again began to act as a link between gambling people and their eventual wins at the races.

However, due to frequent errors in calculating the odds and several successful players with high betting amounts, the case did not last long.

In 1929, William Hill decided to move to London and try his luck in the betting business again. At first, he took bets on the dog races popular in England, and then became a co-owner of the Northolt Park pony race. In 1934, William was able to rent a room on Jermin Street and open a full-fledged bookmaking office with cashiers, noisy visitors and smoky walls. William Hill was a proud man.

Becoming a bookmaker

Hill was able to find some loopholes in the legislation banning betting as it exists in the UK today. In particular, he began to take bets by mail and had nothing against betting on trust or, as they then called, «betting on credit». These decisions proved to be strategically correct. They increased the number of regular customers to half a million, moved to a larger facility on Park Lane, and Hill himself in the late 1930s became a millionaire.

It was in this office on Park Lane that the first deal with a bookie for a football game was made, which was confirmed by a coupon with a fixed rate. This event took place in 1944. At the same time, a separate organization was created, which accepted the bet exclusively on football.

In the 1960s, one of the key competitors of William Hill’s betting firm at the time, Ladbrokes, also began using fixed quotes in betting coupons. Hill did not like this and was able to obtain monetary compensation of £1 during the trial. That’s what the millionaire wanted.

Despite the boom and the ever-increasing profits, William Hill decided to go on. In 1954, he founded Holder’s Investment Trust, which has an extensive network of betting points throughout the UK. From 1955 to 1960, the company’s shares went public on the London Stock Exchange. This decision brought Hill £5 million.

Legalization of bookmaking in the UK

In 1961, the UK government legalized betting activities and made it possible to obtain a gambling license in UK but William Hill took no steps to expand the business. It is not known what caused this decision. Maybe Hilla was satisfied with an inexhaustible stream of profit generated by fixed quotes.

Or maybe the bookie saw legalization as a threat to the welfare of the working class. He believed that dealings with bookies can lead a simple worker off the right path and are intended only for wealthy people, as they are entertainment, nothing more. The version is unusual, especially if we recall how Hill started. But it is known that over time he became close to the views of socialists. William’s conversion to Catholicism after the death of his only daughter is also supported.

Perhaps William Hill is simply tired of the daily routine and the occasional intense stress. The management of a giant office and the operation of millions every day hardly goes without a trace.

In 1966, however, William Hill opened its first and 100% legal betting business. Things went much better thanks to the development of television. More and more people were learning about betting shops, and betting operators no longer had to adjust to legislative restrictions.

BK William Hill never made up for five years of inactivity, so it was only the second most sought-after betting operator in the UK.

Love of a lifetime

William Hill was passionate about horses. And he didn’t just buy a horse for peace of mind and peace after a hard day’s work or energy before a new challenge. In 1943, the millionaire engaged in breeding horses, which subsequently participated in the race. And did it very successfully.

• Nimbus was named the best stallion at the Derby and Two Thousand Guineas in 1949.
• Chanteur II won the Derby in 1953.
• The horse named Be Careful was the first to finish at Champagne Stake and Gimcrack Stake.
• The Cantelo mare was unrivaled in the 1958 Classic.

William Hill repeatedly bet on his own horses and occasionally lost. Ironically, the bookie lost the money won from the players.

In 1970, Hill left the betting business and concentrated on his stud plants. While watching one of the potential race winners and possible favorites of William Hill, he had a heart attack on the track. A few days later, on 16 October 1971, he left this world.

In the year of his death, William Hill was sold to Sears Holdings and changed owners several times. However, the name of the office remained intact to this day.

As for online activities, the first years of the online betting company website worked with the «shortened» company name in the domain, as the «full» domain name was occupied by a winery in California. In 2005, the wine company ceased operations, but the domain under which BC operates now became free only in 2009, which is what the bookie used.

Competitive advantage

What made William Hill succeed in such a competitive business? William Hill refused to work with cash and accepted only cheques in advance before the sporting event. Even though it was technically illegal and the office was very small, due to its good reputation, it gained the trust of customers. Finding a loophole in the law, betting firm William Hill began to engage in credit and mail betting, which was not explicitly prohibited by law in the UK. Betting was mainly done by telephone, and any important and useful information was provided, so that the WH did not arouse the typical suspicion that bookmakers of the time usually had. This activity allowed the company not only to remain in the market, but also to win such valuable qualities as trustworthiness, honesty and professionalism. They were the key to the company’s success over the next 30 years and provided the opportunity for its founder to constantly increase capital (unlike all his business ventures before 1934).

The history of the company after the death of William Hill

As soon as William Hill retired, the ownership of the company continued to change: in 1971, when the founder died, WH bought out Sears Holding Group, but their ownership rights only lasted until 1988. Grand Metropolitan then bought the company and merged it with Mecca Bookmakers under the name William Hill. However, the company did not last long: less than a year, as the WH bought in 1989, this time its owner became Brent Walker. In 1997, Japanese bank Nomura offered an incredible sum of £700 million for William Hill, but owned the company for only two years. The owner has not changed since 1999. Cinven has invested in numerous prestigious companies, whose turnover has already exceeded the 70 billion euro mark. Cinven and CVC Capital Partners, one of the most

prominent venture capital companies, then offered £825 million for the WH. The deal marked the beginning of a new era for William Hill. It can be divided into two epochs: the leadership of CEO David Harding (until 2008) and CEO Ralph Topping (from 2008 to the present). While the first development of the company was characterized by advances in technology and financial highs and lows, the second continued to focus on technological development, but without the financial dramas that sometimes resulted from personal management problems.

In 1998, just a few months before the company was bought by the current owner, William Hill began to conquer the Internet: the first service offered online was the betting office Sportsbook, and the virtual casino opened in 2000, becoming one of the first gambling establishments online, which only added prestige to the already impeccable company name. The variety of games is really impressive, their quality is constantly improving, and the list is updated. Traditional games such as roulette, baccarat or blackjack are complemented by slot machines featuring graphics in the style of well-known themes: The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Pink Panther, etc. The ubiquity of the Internet has had a great impact on the activities of William Hill, which is constantly improving the quality of its site, making it more diverse and offering more and more gaming opportunities, which now number hundreds.

2000s

The 2000s were an important period in the company’s life. In 2002 it appeared on the London Stock Exchange, and a year later it acquired the Brough Park racecourse. In 2005, the British Government passed the Gambling Act, which greatly facilitated the work of bookmakers. Later that year, WH became the owner of Stanley Leisure PLC in the UK and Ireland. In 2008, a separate branch, William Hill Online, was created, combining the online business with the acquired assets of Playtech (an online software manufacturer). As a result, William Hill has become an absolute European leader in online gambling and betting. During the same year, a new version of Sportsbook was launched using Orbis technology. The first decade of the 21st century ended brilliantly for the company: it managed to raise more than £650 million from the bond issue; in order to reduce costs, the head office was moved to Gibraltar (due to more favorable financial and legislative conditions, the gambling license in Gibraltar was obtained; in addition, the company became an official sponsor of the Spanish football club Malaga.

Since 2010, William Hill has continued to improve in some respects. Several key leadership positions changed: Neil Cooper succeeded Simon Lane as CFO and Gareth Davis took over as CEO after Charles Scott. The company sold 50% of its equity in Spain to Codere S.A, acquired American betting companies, and announced the acquisition of one of Australia’s and Spain’s top gambling leaders. Moreover, the 15 remaining offices in Ireland were sold for 1.5 million euros. June 2012 was also an important historic moment for William Hill: the company received a full gaming license from Nevada, becoming the first European operator to have it.

William Hill is rich in history and tradition, and boasts an impeccable quality that should never be neglected by investing money, time and trust in any of the companies in the field of gambling. Having passed the test of time, the WH boldly looks to the future, confidently increasing its heritage.

William Hill Empire

William Hill is now one of the biggest betting houses in the biggest betting market. 2,300 land-based rates, telephone and online services handle an average of about a million rates per day. The company’s income exceeds £1.5 billion a year, and its net income exceeds £150 million a year. Like other British betting giants, the company is actively seeking new markets through the Internet and the beginning of operations in third countries.

Before launching your own online bookmaker, lawyers from Regulated United Europe will have to carefully familiarize themselves with the current legislation of those countries in which your project plans to provide services, get a gambling license and only after that start accepting deposits from players. Contact us in a convenient way and get the offer today.