William Hill (LON:WMH) plc has confirmed its full year outlook in a trading update on Wednesday, driven by the success of its US operations following the legalisation of sports betting.
The bookmaker posted a trading update for the unaudited 17 weeks to 30 April, in which group net revenue for the period was up 2%. William Hill said that this reflects a year of transition in Retail and Online.
Online net revenue was up 8%, reflecting the contribution from Mr Green, and Retail Sportsbook net revenue increased 2% with a “strong” sports betting through the period.
US total net revenues increased 48% from operations in all seven US states that have currently legislated and regulated sports betting.
Last year, sports betting was legalised across the US following a supreme court ruling. Federal law previously barred gambling on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most US states as a result of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act established in 1992. Previously, only a few exceptions qualified under the law.
“Just one year on since PASPA was overturned William Hill has doubled the sports wagering it handles in the US, seen record performances at the Super Bowl and March Madness, is live in all seven states to have allowed sports betting and expects to enter further states soon, with Indiana and Iowa the most recent states to pass bills to legalise sports betting,” Chief Executive Officer Philip Bowcock commented on the results.
William Hill also highlighted the use of Anthony Joshua as a brand for its new advertising campaign in the UK.
“Our new advertising campaign featuring Anthony Joshua marks a step change for William Hill with the brand-led creative also integrating safer gambling messages,” Philip Bowcock continued.
As a result, William Hill said that its full-year outlook remains in line with expectations assuming normalised gross win margins for the remainder of the year.
At the start of the year, William Hill warned of lower annual profits for 2018.
