William Hill Gambling Stock

William Hill Gambling Stock 3,9/5 1142 votes

William Hill Gambling Stock
William Hill Gambling Stock

In June 2009 William Hill backed Playtech despite their partner having a quarter of its stock market value wiped out following a profits warning. In 2012 William Hill acquired three small sportsbook operators in Nevada, which at the time was the only state to offer full service sports betting. One was disclosed on March 20, after markets tanked amid concerns over the coronavirus pandemic and sporting events - the lifeblood of the gambling industry - were canceled. William Hill has.

William Hill stock climbed close to 8% early on Tuesday, after the British gambling company was included in a multiyear deal with ESPN as it looks set to capitalize on the U.S. Sports betting boom.

The stock market has whipsawed investors lately, with up days often following down days, and vice versa. Market participants remain stymied by all the factors they have to consider right now, including the November elections, the coronavirus pandemic, the economic recession, and the ever-changing views on fiscal and monetary policy.

All of those issues are creating uncertainty, but investors set those concerns aside early Friday. Just before 11 a.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) was up 70 points to 26,885. The S&P 500(SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) had gained 12 points to 3,259, and the Nasdaq Composite(NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) was higher by 91 points to 10.764.

Sports betting stocks found themselves in the spotlight on Friday. One company has become an acquisition target, and the potential for a bidding war has helped to send stocks across the industry higher. Below, we'll look more closely at whether now's the time to bet on sports betting's future.

William Hill gets interest

The immediate cause for investors to pay attention to sports betting stocks came from U.K. bookmaker William Hill (OTC: WIMHY). The company confirmed that it has gotten at least two written proposals concerning a possible takeover. Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO) was the first to make its bid, coming toward the end of August. After that, William Hill got an updated proposal from Apollo as well as a separate offer from Caesars Palace operatorCaesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR).

The three companies have histories that are intertwined. Apollo was part of the group of private equity players that participated in the late 2000s leveraged buyout of Harrah's, the predecessor name of Caesars Entertainment. Caesars and William Hill have already been partners on the online side, with suggestions that combining William Hill's U.S. operations with Caesars could create a big player in the gambling industry.

The fact that William Hill became a supplier of betting odds information for Disney's (NYSE: DIS) sports network ESPN was also a big win for the U.K. company. That made William Hill an even more attractive prize for investors.

Gains across the industry

The news about William Hill has the entire gambling sector doing well. Global giants Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands were up only 1% to 2% Friday morning, but more U.S.-centric companies outperformed. MGM Resorts gained almost 3%, while Penn National Gaming, Boyd Gaming, and DraftKings all rose 4% to 6%. Horse racing venue Churchill Downs enjoyed even sharper gains of more than 9%.

Investors see a lot of tailwinds for the industry. Reopening markets in the U.S. looks like more of a certainty, because state governments have had their normal sources of tax revenue dry up as a result of the pandemic and massive unemployment; meanwhile, their expenses have risen to fight the coronavirus. Tapping online gambling as a new source of revenue is an obvious answer.

One M&A deal isn't necessarily going to change the landscape of sports betting across the industry. But it does highlight just how important the fast-growing niche has become. With stock investors always on the lookout for promising growth opportunities, what happens to William Hill could foreshadow a whole lot more activity in sports betting in the months and years to come.

Dan Caplinger owns shares of Walt Disney. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends Boyd Gaming and Churchill Downs and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $60 calls on Walt Disney and short October 2020 $125 calls on Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

William Hill (founder) Born in 1903

The William Hill story begins with the July 16, 1903 birth of
their founder and namesake, William Hill. He was born in
Birmingham, England, the second of 13 children in a strict
family. As a young lad, he attended Oldknow Road School before
leaving to work on his uncle’s farm at the age of 12. He later,
still as a child, worked for BSA works in Birmingham. Perhaps
rebellious over his strict upbringing, overcrowded home, and
working life, at age 16, Hill lied about his age and jumped on a
wagon to join the Black and Tans.

Legend has it that William Hill developed a passion for
horseracing and bookmaking at a young age. During his days with
BSA works, he was introduced to betting. While with the Black
and Tans, he was stationed in Mallow, County Cork, Ireland. From
here he spent his free time taking bets from Moss Foley’s pub.
Returning from duty, he remained in the bookmaking business on a
small scale.

Hill’s first attempt at legal bookmaker came in 1925 as an on
course bookmaker at the Birmingham tracks. Due to the inability
to lay off a couple large bets, he soon lost all his capital. In
1929, he moved to London to begin taking bets on greyhounds,
which allowed him to save up enough capital to invest and become
a part owner in Northolt Park Racetrack (that would become
famous for pony races).

William Hill (Company) Founded 1934

In 1934, William Hill opened his first off-track betting shop
in Park Lane, London. This was the start of the company known
today as William Hill. At the time, cash bookmaking was still
illegal. Hill used a loophole in the law that required “credit
only” betting by having punters provide checks (in person or via
post) weeks in advanced. These were cashed only after the event
had taken place, making it fully legal while he also retained
lawful recourse against any bounced checks.

Hill then continued to build his business on “trust”. At the
time, gambling debts weren’t enforceable by law, so bookies
didn’t even need to legally pay punters. While there were many
scams, his business grew to some 500,000 serviced by the 1960’s
because of his reputation as an honest businessman who pays
winners.

The Invention of Fixed Odds Football Betting

In 1944, William Hill became the first bookie to offer fixed
odds on football betting. The
history of Ladbrokes reported elsewhere often fails to give
him credit. No doubt Ladbrokes was the first UK- licensed
betting shop to offer fixed odds; however, William Hill was
doing so as a credit bookmaker much earlier. In fact, court
records indicate he preceded Ladbrokes, and he successfully sued
them in the early 1960’s for copying his ticket. Being the good
sport that he was, he asked for only £1 damages plus costs,
which the House of Lords granted.

William Hill as a Breeder

By the late 1930’s, William Hill had become the first ever
self-made millionaire bookie. While continuing his bookmaking
empire, he became passionate about breeding horses. He purchased
a stud at Whitsbury in Hampshire in 1943 (Nimbus) that in 1949
won the Two Thousand Guineas and Derby. In 1945, he purchased
Sezincote stud in Gloucestershire that won the 1953 Derby. He
also won a Classic with Cantelo in the 1959 St. Leger and the
Gimcrack Stake and Champagne Stake in 1958 with Be Careful.

William Hill the First Ever PLC Bookmaker

In 1954, William Hill moved his business to a shell company
called Holder’s Investment Trust to secure a position as the
first bookmaker ever publicly-listed on the London Stock
Exchange. From 1955 to 1961, he sold portions of his shares for
in excess of £5 million.

William Hill Personal Life

In order to explain William Hill’s late move into the betting
shop business, it’s important to cover his personal life. In
1923, he married Ivy Burley (nicknamed Daisy), who was a
hairdresser in Birmingham. They had their first and only child
the following year, Kathleen Hill (nicknamed Bubbles) who later
became Kathleen Lavinia after her marriage. She passed away at
the age of 37. The Saint Leonard’s Parish Church of Whitsbury,
located near the track where he purchased his first stud, to
this day bears the words:

“To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of their daughter
Kathleen Lavinia, Born 10th Feb 1924 Died 27 Nov 1961. This
church was restored and refurnished in 1963 by William and Ivy
Hill”.

Hill was not a money hungry coldhearted bookie. During his
lifetime, he raced and bred horses with a passion, took regular
fishing trips, and sponsored youth cricket leagues. He was a
devout Roman Catholic and Socialist. When the UK legalized
betting shops, effective May 1, 1961, he was outspoken against
them. He went as far as calling them a cancer on society that
preyed on the working man. In his opinion, betting was a
recreational activity and competition for those who could afford
it. He was a good bookie and made millions many times over in
his lifetime due to hard work, trust, and running an honest
shop.

By 1966, however, betting shops had become so widespread in
the UK, that traditional bookies had no choice but to adapt.
Hill began investing in the betting shop empire known today. In
1970, he retired and passed away the following year.

Ownership After William Hill’s Death

William Hill Gambling Stock

When William Hill died on October 16, 1971, the business was
taken over by Sears Plc. Many William Hill history articles
associate it with Sears Holdings Group, which has 4,000 retail
locations under Sears and Kmart brand names. This is NOT the
same Sears. The Sears that took over William Hill is a UK
conglomerate in the retail shoes business. Their current brands
include Barratts and Priceless Shoes. While under Sears’
ownership, the company grew to 1800 legal betting shops by 1988.

In 1989, William Hill was purchased by Brent Walker. The same
year, they became the official bookmaker of Golf’s PGA European
Tour with betting shops located on course. During the 1990’s,
betting shops became more socially acceptable in the UK. They
were no longer required to blackout their windows, and instead
could display odds and advertisements for all to see. The law
prohibiting them from being open on Sundays was also repealed; the ability to advertise in newspapers, on television, and
on the radio was granted. Private Scratchcards were legalized and soon
were offered at William Hill shops.

With betting now mainstream, Walker cashed in, selling them
Nomura (Grand Bookmaking Companies) for £700m. They sold it 2
years later in 1999 to Cinven and CVC Partners for £825 million.
Finally, in 2002, William Hill was successfully floated on the
London Stock Exchange for approximately £1 billion.

William Hill Online

In 2000, William Hill launched an off-shore phone-in betting
shop. It used a call center in Athlone, Ireland, which accepted
bets for William Hill International based in Antigua where the
tax was only 3%. That same year, they became the first UK
bookmaker to offer tax-free betting via the Internet. Oddly
enough, despite being known by all bettors alive as William,
they had to use the domain willhill.com. The domain
williamhill.com was already in use by a winery in California.
The winery stopped using it in late 2005, and William Hill the
bookmaker acquired it in 2009, redirecting the brand they had
built.

As you can imagine, this was already the largest betting
brand in the world, and their growth as an online company was a
natural transition. These days there are many multiple language
betting sites, but when William Hill entered the market full
scale in 2000, there were few. They already were popular
internationally and were the biggest bookmaker in the UK. Their
growth came fast when launched in 2000 supporting English,
Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese,
Norwegian, and Finnish languages. In late 2000, they added an
online casino to their offering and then an online poker room in
2003. On April 17, 2002, William Hill signed a deal with the
British Horseracing Board for the commercial use of data. This
made full racing data available on their online website.

After successful floating on the London Stock Exchange in
2002, numerous acquisitions followed. In September of 2002,
William Hill purchased Sunderland Greyhound Stadium. In March
the following year, Brough Park Greyhound Stadium was added. In
2005, it acquired 624 betting shops from Stanley Leisure for
£504 million, although it had to sell 78 of them due to an
anti-competitive practice ruling. In 2008, it went into
partnership with the world’s largest casino software provider
and poker network operator, Playtech.

William Hill Gambling Stock

As mentioned above, William Hill remains the world’s largest
betting brand. The website is available in 24 languages, 10
currencies, and it supports sports and horse race betting, financial
betting, casino, poker, bingo, skill games, and arcade games. This is
no doubt one of the safest and most well-regulated websites for
online gamblers.