William Hill announce closure of 14 Irish betting shops

Reports have reached Betting Hideout that online betting and high street bookmaker William Hill are intending to close 14 high street betting shops in the Republic of Ireland which will result in 53 job losses. William Hill acquired the Irish betting shops from Stanley Leisure in 2004. The closure has become necessary due to a number of reasons, the first being the current economic downturn and also the expected rise to 2% in betting turnover tax in Ireland. The shops that are expected to close are in Waterford, Wexford, Cork, Clare, Dublin and Limerick.

The news comes in stark contrast to the recent interview given by the CEO of William Hill online, Henry Birch. Mr Birch interviewed at the CAP Euro London 2009 show said that although the growth is less on the High street than online betting, the operations are still ‘robust’ and have had “no drop off in terms of the shops”. Mr Birch, a former politician, also stated that the recession has not adversely affected William Hill and also affirmed the company’s plans for growth in 2009 which is expected to centre around the expansion of the online games provided at the online betting and gaming sites and to strengthen the core brand. William Hill has been established for over 75 years and has over 2000 high street shops in the UK alone.

William Hill online – the future of the company?

William Hill also discussed their recent merger with Playtech at the CAP Euro London 2009 show. Speaking on the subject Chief Operations Officer for William Hill, Peter Marcus said that the merger of William Hill betting with the world largest software company, Playtech had created the largest online sportsbook that doesn’t take US bets. The merger created the new William Hill Online brand which is seen to be the future for sports betting in the new faster paced world of gaming.

It would seem that this is an indication of what the future may hold for the bricks and mortar bookmakers, although William Hill state that the high street counts for 80% of their revenue stream this is likely to change with the growth planned for the William Hill online brand.