William Hill Suffers Fall In Revenue

15th November, 2009

A punter-friendly start to the football season has knocked results at bookmaker William Hill.

By the end of September, there had been only four draws in the Premier League. Most customers bet on wins so bookmakers have faced more payouts.

William Hill saw revenue fall 3% in the three months to 29 September, but added that its full-year expectations for its retail arm were broadly unchanged.

Earlier this month, rival Ladbrokes also revealed a 15% fall in revenue.

William Hill said its online business was particularly affected by the 'unfavourable sporting results'.

Manchester United and Chelsea, two of the most heavily backed clubs, each won six out of seven games up to the end of September.

But William Hill, which has 2,300 licensed betting offices in the UK and Ireland, said the last couple of months had seen an increase in people placing bets.

'Business volumes both in our shops and online since the beginning of the football season in mid-August have been good with strong turnover in our online sportsbook and encouraging levels of recycling in retail,' said chief executive Ralph Topping.

Shares in William Hill (LSE: WMH) rose 10.2% to 177.6p in Monday trading.

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