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William Hill "will defend its right to operate in Europe" in the face of protectionist licensing regimes, chief executive Ralph Topping pledged today, arguing that "European legislation is on our side"
WILLIAM Hill “will defend its right to operate in Europe” in the face of protectionist licensing regimes, chief executive Ralph Topping pledged today.
Speaking to EGRmagazine.com, Topping (pictured) said William Hill would consider acquiring an online gaming licence in recently regulated markets such as France if it “made commercial sense and we could make money out of it”.
However, asked if William Hill would accept bets from French citizens even if it was not licensed there, Topping said: “We believe European legislation is on our side and that the measures spelled out by some member states are blatantly protectionist. We will defend our right to operate in Europe.”
The British bookmaker will grow its online business outside its core UK market by using its sportsbook as a customer acquisition tool, Topping continued, and will use it to complement the Playtech affiliates the company brought into its structure when it set up the William Hill Online entity in October last year.
The Playtech integration into William Hill Online should be completed in the next two to three months, he said.
As reported on EGRmagazine.com earlier, William Hill announced that it would be relocating its internet betting operations to Gibraltar this morning to take advantage of the 1.5% gross profits tax on betting in the jurisdiction