Uggie biography of william hill

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Across the globe they employ 16,000 people and are clearly one of the biggest players in our industry.

William Hill have become involved in a number of sporting sponsorships although they have been relatively quiet in terms of football – a shirt deal with Malaga in 2009 was a rare foray into this area of advertising.

That same year, they became the first UK bookmaker to offer tax-free betting via the Internet. The same year, they became the official bookmaker of Golf’s PGA European Tour with betting shops located on course. In 2005, it acquired 624 betting shops from Stanley Leisure for £504 million, although it had to sell 78 of them due to an anti-competitive practice ruling.

We take you through the history of William Hill, on its path to becoming a recognised and respected global brand.

How William Hill Played a Peaky Blinder

Fans of the smash TV show Peaky Blinders will love the back story of bookmaking giant William Hill.

Following his 1970 retirement, the burgeoning company changed hands multiple times. By the age of 17, he had also spent time in Ireland as a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary.

True to form, by the 1920s, William Hill was taking bets as an illegal bookmaker. While under Sears’ ownership, the company grew to 1800 legal betting shops by 1988.

In 1989, William Hill was purchased by Brent Walker.

During the 1990’s, betting shops became more socially acceptable in the UK. They were no longer required to blackout their windows, and instead could display odds and advertisements for all to see.

Hill began investing in the betting shop empire known today. He went as far as calling them a cancer on society that preyed on the working man. While with the Black and Tans, he was stationed in Mallow, County Cork, Ireland. William Hill could no longer call themselves the ‘World’s Biggest Bookmaker’ and it was Hill’s friend Jack Swift who finally persuaded him of the great potential in this new side of the venture.

The 2005 purchase of 624 betting offices operated by Stanley Lesure, primarily in the Irish Republic, Jersey and the Isle of Man (for £504 million) briefly took the company past Ladbrokes into first position in the UK betting market.

Partnerships with Orbis (latterly OpenBet), Israeli software company Playtech and Spanish operator Codere, plus acquisitions – notably betting and gaming digital solutions company Grand Parade – followed.

Despite operating a combined 1,800 betting shops and the largest credit betting operation in the world, this company encountered a turbulent decade. At the time, gambling debts weren’t enforceable by law, so bookies didn’t even need to legally pay punters. All three chains were to be rebranded under the William Hill name.

In 2013, the company purchased three Australian online betting brands: Sportingbet, Centrebet and Tom Waterhouse, and rebranded the trio as William Hill Australia.

It had previously tried to buy the Coral bookmaking business from Joe Coral. These days there are many multiple language betting sites, but when William Hill entered the market full scale in 2000, there were few. The William Hill company was established in 1934 and grew significantly, with Hill incorporating it as William Hill (Park Lane) Ltd in 1939.

By the early 1950s, William Hill boasted over 400,000 customers and had extended its operations to Scotland.

In 1929, he moved to London to begin taking bets on greyhounds, which allowed him to save up enough capital to invest and become a part owner in Northolt Park Racetrack (that would become famous for pony races).

William Hill (Company) Founded 1934

In 1934, William Hill opened his first off-track betting shop in Park Lane, London. Its founder, Mr William Hill, was, like the Shelby family in the award-winning series, from Birmingham.

On April 17, 2002, William Hill signed a deal with the British Horseracing Board for the commercial use of data.