888 Confirms Deal With William Hill

Anyone familiar with online sports betting will likely have heard of the bookmaker William Hill. The site is renowned for providing access to diverse markets and promotional offers. BettingRanker has a page detailing plenty of information about it to help readers gain further insight. This 87-year-old brand has been sought after by the casino firm 888 for some time now. The company recently confirmed that it had acquired William Hill for £2.2bn.

The brand was sold by former owners Caesars in a deal that could change the scope of William Hill betting in the near future. There are currently 1,400 of these brick-and-mortar bookmakers on the high street. 888 has already stated that these will remain open.

In terms of sports betting online, 888 may move further towards innovation. The Israeli gaming company specializes in casino website software. It was formed by Israeli tech entrepreneurs before growing into a sizeable firm.

The sale also does not mean that Caesars has turned away from gambling. Instead, their focus is overseas. They intend to utilize the expertise that William Hill is well known for. Caesars was first established in Las Vegas. The US supreme court only recently overturned a lengthy sports betting ban. As a result, a new fast-growing gambling market has opened up. Armed with William Hill's know-how, Caesars could soon grow in influence across the pond.

Sports betting within the UK is a highly lucrative billion-pound business. Readers can use Betting Ranker to learn about the best sites available. 888 has recognized that William Hill is one of the dominant forces within this industry. However, it still has formidable rivals. This includes Betfred, another online gambling giant that also attempted to acquire William Hill in the past. Doing so would have doubled its already sizeable network within the UK.

Online gambling has for several years begun to supersede brick and mortar bookies. The Covid pandemic only accelerated this shift. However, the future of bookmaker websites such as William Hill faces uncertainty. 

The UK government has stated intentions to reform the industry, focusing on online gambling in particular. 888 chief executive Itai Pazner has said that the company can cope with changes to current regulations. William Hill also focuses more on sports markets, an area that is less likely to be targeted by government reform.

Interestingly, William Hill attempted to buy 888 for £700m in 2015. Therefore, the recent deal could be seen as a way for 888 to turn the tables. Their first attempt was in 2016. The company planned a three-way merger along with the bingo firm Rank. 888 predict that the deal could provide synergy savings of £10m in 2022 alone. 

By 2025 this could be as much as £100m. 888 is now one of the larger players within the UK sports betting industry. Despite this, competition is fierce with the likes of Paddy Power, SkyBet, Coral, Ladbrokes, and Bet365 to contend with. As to whether this competition will continue for decades is a wait-and-see scenario.