William Hill Online Gambling Boosts Profits

British bookmaker William Hill enjoyed a healthy $432.9 million profit in 2011 according to documents released this week. That’s up a full six percent over last year and officials are crediting a 28 percent leap in net online revenues with the impressive gains.
Read more about the William Hill affiliate program in this exclusive interview with David Bazak.
Good Year for Online Betting
Most of the growth at William was driven by the company’s booming online division. That side of the company saw a revenues to the tune of around half a billion dollars.
Company CEO Ralph Topping took the news in a typically understated fashion saying, “We believe there are more opportunities to grow in our core market in the UK and also for the business to expand internationally beyond the traditional roots as more governments open up their regulated gambling markets.”
Getting Ready for America
A good chunk of that international expansion he’s referring to is the company’s recent application for a Nevada gaming license. While that process can be quite time consuming (around 12 to 18 months) a successful application would put William Hill smack in the middle of several areas of gaming action in the next few years.
Nevada is just one of several states, including California and Iowa that’s moving forward with plans to legalize online poker. A solid foothold there could mean some serious additional revenue for a company that’s already a proven leader in online gaming.
In a recent interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal Topping hinted that William Hill was keeping an eye on every potential avenue of U.S. growth, including sports betting. Topping mentioned recent efforts in New Jersey to legalize sports betting as one of those avenues.
Affiliate Connection
Of course what’s good for the goose is good for the gander and William Hill’s success is felt by its affiliate partners, too. As more cash strapped governments turn to gaming as a source of revenue, it’s likely that William Hill will be sitting in the coveted pole position when the real racing actually starts.
Do you think that William Hill’s successful run will continue into this year? Let us know your opinion in our Online Gambling Newswire Forum.