While the retail channel continued to perform strongly in 2007 with over £800m in gross win, up 9% on 2006, the interactive channel closed a disappointing year with gross win falling by £10.7m to £119.8m and operating profit falling by £10.6m to £50.9m. Total active accounts increased to 432,000 from 405,000 in 2006.
The online sportsbook site continued to be impacted by the relative inflexibility of the current technology configuration. The inflexibility is most notable in respect of in-running betting, where the limitations prevented William Hill from increasing the number of in-running betting opportunities, compared to those available from other online sportsbooks. In January 2008, following the notification of a delay in the implementation, William Hill decided to terminate the NextGen technology programme and purchased the Orbis platform, which should be implemented by the end of November 2008.
Commenting on the results, Chairman Charles Scott said: “We expect 2008 to be a transitional year for the Interactive channel as we make the necessary investments to lay the foundations for future growth. The most significant of these is the replacement of our Interactive sportsbook technology system with the new, more flexible ORBIS platform. We will also be focusing on exploiting the opportunities available to our online gaming business.”
Calculators
