William Hill Gains Momentum over Competition

William Hill has won another battle in its stretched out war against rivals Ladbrokes by posting its Q1 results that showed a rise of 26% in net revenue and 28% growth in their operating profits.

This news comes only weeks after Ladbrokes posted Q1 revenues for its online business that showed a small increase of 1.2% compared to Q1 of 2010.

In addition it showed a worrying 5.3% drop in revenues from sports betting for Q1 compared to last year's results. This drop is probably due to the heavy investment and focus its sportsbook has on racing, coupled with a disappointing Cheltenham festival that did not provide the racing excitement and betting frenzy the bookmaker was hoping for.

It takes a comparison to William Hill sportsbook results to be able to grasp just how disappointing these results are for Ladbrokes:

William Hill sports book performed very strongly with a rise of 54% in net revenue due to an increase of 62% in amounts wagered. In-play sums wagered grow by 138% and mobile betting skyrocketed with a 786% climb.

The sharp rise in mobile betting is a combination of a very successful marketing campaign and due to it being a new venture for the company so the numbers could only improve.

William Hill Online has also reported steady growth in its Bingo, Poker and Casino revenues in spite of the effects the closure of the French market and the fact that income from French business was included in Q1 2010 results. When excluding the French revenue in 2010 the numbers are even more impressive with a growth of 30% in net gaming revenue.