William Hill History

William Hill is a long-established betting brand founded in 1934. Caesars Entertainment acquired William Hill PLC in April 2021, and 888 acquired its non-US business in July 2022. This article traces the development of the business from its early postal and telephone betting services to its retail and online operations. And it all started with a nimble kid who, by installing a motor on his bike, 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 in honor of his father. Of course, the child was still far from being well-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, having ten brothers and sisters made him drop out of school, grow up, and start working. First, he worked on his uncle’s farm in the suburbs, then became an apprentice with The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited, starting to develop a working career.

This little boy drew the attention of the many workers in that factory to past races only. He also commented 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.

In a word, so many people learned about the young but highly professional bookmaker that William was forced to change a regular bike for an engine—their legs were too tired after regular many-kilometres 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 take part 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 started 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, with lots of calculation mistakes of the odds and several successful players with high bets, the case did not last long.

In 1929, William Hill decided to move to London and again try his luck in the betting business. First, he took bets on the dog races popular in England, later he became one of the owners of Northolt Park pony race. Finally, in 1934 he 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 managed to find loopholes in the legislation banning betting in its current form in the UK. He had nothing against bets on trust or what they then called «betting on credit» and began to take bets by correspondence. As a matter of fact, these decisions turned out 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.

The first deal with a bookmaker about the results of a football match was concluded in the office on Park Lane. It was confirmed by a coupon with an established rate. This happened in 1944. At the same time, another organization was established—accepting bets on the results of football matches only.

During the 1960s, one of the biggest competitors to William Hill’s betting company at that time, Ladbrokes, also began using fixed quotes in their betting coupons. Hill did not like this, and so during the trial he was able to receive financial damages of £1. That is what the millionaire wanted.

The ever-growing revenues did not stop William Hill from further actions. In 1954, he opened Holder’s Investment Trust, which includes a far-reaching network of betting points all over the UK. From 1955 until 1960, the company’s shares went public in the London Stock Exchange. This decision brought Hill £5 million.

Legalization of bookmaking in the UK

Licensed betting shops became legal in Great Britain on 1 May 1961. This did not mark the first legalisation of all betting: William Hill had already operated a postal and telephone betting business since 1934. The company entered the betting-shop market in 1966.

Or maybe the bookmaker considered the legalization as a threat to welfare of the working class. He felt that the activity with bookmakers can bring a simple laborer from the right way and is intended for rich people only, as it is an amusement and nothing more. The variant is curious, at least if we remember how Hill began. But, however, it is known that with time he drew close to the socialists position. The fact of William’s conversion to Catholicism after his only daughter’s death is also confirmed.

Probably, William Hill is simply tired of the routine and the sometimes harsh stress. The head of a giant office and the operation of millions every day hardly goes without a trace.

In 1966, William Hill entered the betting-shop market by acquiring existing businesses. This expanded its retail presence; it was not the beginning of the company’s lawful betting operations.

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 declared the supreme stallion at the Derby and Two Thousand Guineas in 1949.
• Chanteur II emerged as the Derby winner during 1953.
• The horse named Be Careful came first at Champagne Stake and Gimcrack Stake.
• The Cantelo mare remained unbeaten during the 1958 Classic.

William Hill was betting repeatedly with his horses and at times, losing as well. As it would be said, ironically speaking, the bookie lost the money he gained from the players.

In 1970, Hill retired from the betting business and focused on his stud plants. It was on the track, watching one of the likely race winners and one of the future William Hill favorites, that he had a heart attack. A few days later, on 16 October 1971, he died.

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

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

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. The betting firm William Hill soon found a loophole in the legislation, which did not forbid credit and postal betting, and thus started giving those facilities. The betting was made basically by telephone, and any useful and valuable information was given so that the WH would not create the typical suspicion of bookmakers of those times. The 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

The moment William Hill retired, the ownership structure of the company kept changing: in 1971, after the death of the founder, WH became an ownership bought out by Sears Holding Group, but its ownership rights survived only till 1988. Then Grand Metropolitan bought the firm and merged it with Mecca Bookmakers under the title of 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. Nomura acquired William Hill in 1997 for £700 million. Cinven and CVC acquired it in 1999 for £825 million, followed by a stock-market flotation in 2002. Ownership changed again when Caesars acquired the company in 2021 and 888 acquired the non-US business in 2022. It can be divided into two epochs: leadership first by CEO David Harding up to 2008, and subsequently by CEO Ralph Topping. If the first development of the company was characterized by steps in technology and financial ups and downs, the second one continued to be focused on technological development, without the financial dramas sometimes resulting from personal management problems.

William Hill launched its online Sportsbook in 1998 and its online casino in 2000, establishing an online presence alongside its existing betting business. Classic casino games such as roulette, baccarat or blackjack are supplemented with slot machines whose graphics represent the themes well-known to everybody: The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Pink Panther, etc. It is impossible to imagine a modern company without the World Wide Web. The all-pervading Internet made a great influence on William Hill Company activities, which constantly improves the quality of its website, making it more multifarious and offering more and more gaming opportunities, already numbering hundreds.

2000s

William Hill floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2002 and acquired Brough Park Greyhound Stadium in 2003. In 2005, William Hill acquired Stanley Leisure’s retail bookmaking operations in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Jersey and Isle of Man, rather than Stanley Leisure PLC as a whole. In 2008, it announced the combination of its online business with assets acquired from Playtech to form William Hill Online.

In 2010, Neil Cooper became Group Finance Director, replacing Simon Lane, and Gareth Davis succeeded Charles Scott as non-executive Chairman, not Chief Executive Officer. Ralph Topping remained Chief Executive. William Hill also sold its 50% interest in its Spanish joint venture to Codere in 2010. In 2011, it sold its remaining 15 betting shops in the Republic of Ireland to BoyleSports for €1.5 million. June 2012 became another historic moment of William Hill when the company got a full gaming license from Nevada and became the first European operator to have it.

Full of history and tradition, William Hill is immaculate in quality, which should never be underestimated by any of the companies in investing money, time, and trust in the field of gambling. Having passed the test of time, the WH proudly looks towards the future while 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 actively seeks new markets via the Internet and the beginning of operation in third countries.

Before opening your online bookmaker, the lawyers of Regulated United Europe will have to carefully study the current legislation of those countries in which your project intends to provide services, obtain a
gambling license
and only after that proceed with accepting deposits from players. Contact us in a way that is convenient for you and receive the offer today.