William Hill Purchases US Sportsbook

William Hill is continuing its international shopping spree with another purchase of a regulated sports betting company that provides sports betting service to the US states of Nevada and Delaware.

William Hill, the UK's biggest bookmaker that operates many brick and mortar betting facilities within the UK, but also has a strong online portfolio of various gambling products that include poker, casino, bingo, scratch cards and skill games.

The British bookmaker confirmed that it has entered an obligatory agreement at a total cost of $14.25m that it will pay for acquiring Brandywine Bookmaking that had a turnover of $7.7m in 2010.

Brandywine operates 16 sportsbooks in Nevada, one in the Caribbean and provides odds for the Delaware sports lottery.

William Hill stated last month that it was acquiring two Nevada sports betting companies that offer land-based services for a total purchase price of $39m.

William Hill must be granted a gambling license from the Nevada Gaming Commission prior to these deals being completed and that is not expected until next year.

Now William Hill added the third US-based business in a move that signals that William Hill believes in the US market and foresees a change with regards to online gambling and also expects more US states to legalize sports betting.

Currently only four US states offer legal and regulated sports betting services; Nevada, Montana, Oregon and Delaware.

William Hill stated that the Nevada market had a turnover of $2,7bn with gross profits of $151m and it predicts that these purchases would provide William Hill with a quarter of the Nevada sports betting market.