SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
UK business news sources have reported this weekend that William Hill has approached KPMG consultancy to undertake a strategic review focusing on the company’s digital and technology operations.
The consultancy review follows William Hill’s may financial update which saw the operator post an 11% net revenue decline in its digital division, with the company further detailing product declines in both online games (-4%) and sports betting (-17%).
Seeking to develop in-house technology competencies, in 2015 William Hill implemented new proprietary platform ‘Project Trafalgar’ aiming to extend user engagement between its desktop and mobile offerings.
However, mobile integration difficulties during the initial roll-out of the platform would impact betting growth within the firm’s UK market. William Hill governance would declare that ‘Project Trafalgar’ initial expectations had not been met, but that the company were committed to the platform’s long term viability.
The opening half of 2016, has seen William Hill governance undertake a restructure of its digital leadership appointing Crispin Nieboer as Managing Director of Online replacing Andrew Lee.
A rough opening half to 2016, which saw the FTSE-listed operator revise its full-year earnings to between the £260-280 million range (original target: £300-318 million), has seen William Hill share price fall from 410p in February to 281p this June.
William Hill governance states that the company will continue to expand its technology capabilities, outlining its recent £275 million joint-venture acquisition of market leading betting platform provider OpenBet with Canadian firm NYX Gaming
