The History of William Hill Online
William Hill is one of the UK’s most prolific bookmakers, with over 2,300 shops stationed throughout the UK and Ireland that offer sports betting opportunities, gambling machines and betting for non-sporting events as well. The original company was started by founder William Hill in 1934, a period in which gambling in Britain was outlawed. The company was operated under new ownership under a few occasions, being bought by Sears Holdings in the early 1970’s, changing hands to Grand Metropolitan in 1988, then being purchased by Brent Walker just a year later.
Today, William Hill’s online platform provides a casino crossover site that offers internet-based betting, real money casino and slot games, bingo and poker. This wide gambling platform and online betting solution in one quickly propelled the online casino it to its status as a leading European web-based gambling operator.
William Hill Gibraltarian Base Expansion
William Hill Online was opened as an online casino and crossover betting platform in December of 2008. The new venture was a combined effort of William Hill and some assets that had been recently acquired, as only a month before William Hill Online had gone into partnership with Orbis and online casino software provider Playtech Limited in an attempt to boost revenues from their online company.
William Hill Online held a license to operate their online casino under the jurisdiction of the UK until 2009, at which point the company chose to relocate its online betting and gambling services from the UK to Gibraltar, the same location at which their headquarters of online operations is situated. Thus, in 2009, William Hill Online began their casino and betting operations under a Gibraltarian license while further expanding the William Hill Gibraltarian base. This relocation of jurisdiction was part of a continual integration process of William Hill Online.
The Benefits of Operating in Gibraltar
The jurisdiction of Gibraltar is a main hub for gambling online NZ and betting operations on a global scale, with many leading companies choosing to operate from the area. Gibraltar offers these companies a well-established regulatory milieu, skilled developers and staff and an economical tax system. With the core gaming operations of William Hill Online already based in Gibraltar, the reasoning behind the relocation was tactical in nature.
The company theorized that the move would reduce operational costs, giving them the same advantage as many other offshore casino operators based in the area.
Despite the expansion of the William Hill Gibraltarian base, the company still maintains a considerable presence in Ireland and the UK, operating more than 2,300 licensed betting facilities and over 15,000 staff members.
Recent Developments of William Hill
More recently, a duty imposed by Britain on William Hill’s winnings from British players again affected the company’s revenues in 2013. However, the company chose to continue operations from the William Hill Gibraltarian base despite these tax changes, deciding to focus instead on the development of online and mobile products designed around the then upcoming 2014 Soccer World Cup in Brazil.