Key talking points from William Hill’s full-year financial results
Mr Green to launch in Spain as CEO Ulrik Bengtsson adds colour to CBS Sports media deal
William Hill reported its full-year financial results yesterday as profit plummeted 37% to £147m – still ahead of management expectations.
Revenue remained flat amid a 2% decrease to £1.58bn, but there was more to the report than financial figures.
EGR sifted through the webcast and spoke exclusively to chief executive Ulrik Bengtsson to ascertain the London-listed operator’s approach to international expansion and building on US gains.
Intricacies of CBS Sports media deal unveiled
William Hill sealed a deal with US media giant CBS Sports this month to display its betting content across the outlet’s portfolio of sites and platforms.
Hills had been courting a US media partner for some time, and CBS is the second biggest media brand in North America, according to Bengtsson.
When asked how the partnership will materialise, and if it would mirror Bet MGM’s combination with Yahoo Sports, Bengtsson said the main point of the deal was to grow the Hills brand stateside.
“The whole reason for doing the CBS deal is to help us build a brand across the nation,” said Bengtsson.
“Primarily, I look at this as a customer acquisition vehicle as we get exclusive access to one of the largest fantasy databases in the world.
“It is still early days so we need to work through details, but if you have a studio setting before an NFL game, you might have an odds ticker on the screen where we present our odds.
“It could also be presented in the fantasy environment, where you put together your team and alongside that have William Hill odds and the ability to place bets.
“There are a whole range of interactions in that digital ecosystem once we integrate our product, including all the link outs to our sites from the online properties that CBS has,” he added.
UK outlook bleaker than ever
Profit sunk 37% in 2019 as the operator dealt with the impact of increased regulation in the UK. FOBT stake cuts, combined with a rise in Remote Gaming Duty, saw profit drop to £147m, down from £234m in 2018, as the Online arm took a £13m tax hit to profitability. Headwinds in Hills’ home market look set to continue, with the online sector next to fall under the regulatory microscope and a revamp of the 2005 Gambling Act imminent.
Bengtsson outlined a strategy to focus on yield in the UK over volume as the firm will seek to engage its existing recreational player base to keep ARPU at 13% or higher, rather than by squeezing VIPs as that sector is also facing a likely regulatory clampdown – be it forced or voluntary.
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Mr Green to launch in Spain
International markets have been identified to inspire growth in the online business and Bengtsson was eager to hammer home the fact Hills should capitalise on “product improvements” in Italy and Spain into 2020.
The operator will also launch its Mr Green brand into the Spanish market, with the site set to go live before June in the absence of a concrete timeline. Hills will not expand into Spain physically, as international business is run from its Malta hub.
When asked if Spain’s unfriendly approach to gambling advertising had derailed the Mr Green launch plan, Bengtsson said: “No that plan has not changed. We will continue to move forwards with that. I cannot give you a timeline, but it should be before the summer.
“The strategy is to selectively invest in markets we think have potential and in markets where we have a good position,” he added.
COO appointment imminent
Bengtsson revealed that Hills was “weeks away” from announcing its new chief operating officer. The role is currently occupied on an interim basis by former Lads Coral veteran Phillip Le Feuvre, but not for much longer it would appear. Bettors would probably back one of Bengtsson’s former Betssonites to fill the void, but Hills rebelled against that approach with the hire of industry outsider Satty Bhens as joint CPO/CTO back in October. Bhens is based in New York as the operator continues to stack its eggs in the US basket.
Bengtsson said: “As for the responsibilities of the new COO, the intention is to give somebody end-to-end responsibility across the group for customer service, risk, fraud, trading etc. That has never really existed before, so it is a new role in that sense.”