Hill Gambling
Little is certain in the world these days, and in the very large category of the many loose ends in the coronavirus pandemic era is the question of what will become of sports gambling in Maryland.
Just before the Maryland General Assembly suspended its annual business in Annapolis ahead of schedule to comply with the common sense recommendation to avoid group situations, it passed a bare bones version of a sports gambling bill in order to keep a spot on the November ballot for a referendum question on sports wagering for the voters to decide.
For that answer we spoke with William Hill U.S. CEO Joe Asher, who said there are still sports-albeit less popular among U.S. Gamblers-that are active like the UFC and Japanese baseball but added. William Hill is still, by far, the Washington DC sports betting leader in the latest non-shocker update out of the nation’s capital. For the third straight month, William Hill’s results were far better than those from the DC Lottery‘s mobile platform. If the success of mobile elsewhere is.
Should the world return to a semblance of normalcy, and sports along with it, and if sports wagering becomes legal in Maryland, a corporate name that will become more familiar with local bettors is that of William Hill. With headquarters in London and Leeds in England, the longtime company has international bricks-and-mortar and digital sports wagering operations. In the U.S., William Hill operates 114 race and sports books in Nevada and has operations in New Jersey as well as several other states.
William Hill’s New Jersey sports books include Monmouth Park, a thoroughbred racetrack in Oceanport, and the Ocean Resort Casino and the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City.
Assuming the dominoes fall in an expected way — and understanding that there’s no sure thing at the moment — William Hill is likely to have the sports book at the Horseshoe Baltimore Casino. Caesars Entertainment, which currently owns the Horseshoe, is being bought by Eldorado Resorts, a Nevada company. Eldorado has a partnership with William Hill for Hill to run its sports books. However, the Eldorado-Caesars deal hasn’t closed yet.
Again, if the dominoes fall in the expected way …
“We’ve got to get through this public health emergency,” said Joe Asher, William Hill CEO for the U.S., in a recent telephone interview. “[The sports wagering question] has to get on the ballot. It’s got to pass. And then we have to go through the whole regulatory process”
“But it’ll happen,” Asher added. “We’ll get there, we’ll get there. I’ve been fond of saying of late that the end of the world happens only once, and this isn’t it. We’ll get through this.”
The Horseshoe won’t be William Hill’s only presence in the greater Maryland-Washington region.
William Hill may also be running the sports book operation at Rocky Gap Casino Resort in Allegany County. Hill is aligned with Golden Entertainment, a Nevada-based gaming company that owns Rocky Gap.
And perhaps more significantly, Hill has partnered with Monumental Sports and Entertainment to put a sports book at the Capital One Arena, home of the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the NHL’s Washington Capitals.
Ted Leonsis — owner of the Caps, the Wizards and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, plus the Capital One Arena — has been bullish on the synergy between wagering and sports.
William Hill Gambling Stock
“It’s a deal we’re real excited about obviously,” Asher said of the Capital One sports book. “Ted is one of the leaders in sports and other industries as well. As a matter of fact, the last trip I took before anybody stopped traveling was to D.C., and I had a meeting at Capital One with Ted and his team.”
Demolition work has already started for the sports book, Asher said.
“We’re excited about it,” Asher said. “It’s going to be a marquee venue. The location is fantastic, right between the White House and the Capitol at one of the busiest Metro stations in the network, probably one of the busiest subway stops in the country.”
The sports book will also offer dining.
“We’re focused on making this a really compelling place for people to come and enjoy even when there aren’t games at Capital One,” Asher said. “We want people coming in on the weekends off-season to watch college and pro football. I’d love it to be the place where, if you’re a Redskins fan, you’d go when the Redskins are out of town.”
Asher is personally enthused about bringing William Hill to the greater Maryland region.
“Maryland is always at the top of my mind, maybe because I’m from Delaware,” he said. Asher grew up in Wilmington, graduated from the University of Delaware and even lived for a short time in Maryland as a child.
At the moment, William Hill, like all companies in the gaming industry, is going through tough times. Casinos and tracks where the company has sports books are all closed. And even online operations are mostly quiet. No sports means no business.
To assist William Hill employees who are out of work, Asher is donating his salary until sports resume and is encouraging others who are still working to help as well.
In the meantime, William Hill is trying to come up with wagering propositions that may attract some betting money. Soccer from Belarus, basketball from Taiwan and even eNASCAR, where famous drivers race each other in video simulations, have found their way onto the betting board.
Other sports books have offered betting on table tennis from the Ukraine and Australian Rules Football.
One of Asher’s enduring loves is horse racing. One of his first jobs was at Brandywine Raceway, a harness track just south of Pennsylvania-Delaware border. He enjoys family vacations at Del Mar, Calif., and the races at the thoroughbred track there. He even has a couple of racehorses that are stabled in Maryland.
Not surprisingly, he has an affection for Baltimore’s Preakness Stakes.
“In Maryland, the Preakness is such a signature event in the state,” he said. “I’ve been there many times but clearly something has to be done that’s more appropriate for the modern day. Pimlico is obviously a very old facility and not where it needs to be [in terms of condition]. How exactly that all works out, I’m not close enough to it … but the fundamental principle of keeping the Preakness in Maryland is important.”
Of great concern to Asher regarding horse racing are the drug allegations that resulted in 27 people being federally indicted in March for various roles in manufacturing, distributing and administering performance enhancing drugs to racehorses.
“The drug situation in horses is so significant and it has to be addressed or, over time, the sport may simply disappear,” Asher said. “I’m not an alarmist but it’s a massive problem in the industry.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of William Hill
William Hill is the world’s largest betting brand. In the UK
alone, they have 2,325 betting shops. They also operate an
online gambling site available in 24 languages and 10
currencies. The site offers sports betting, horse race betting,
financial betting, casino, poker, bingo, and skill and arcade
games all from a single website and player account bank. As a
company publicly-traded on the London Stock Exchange (WMH.L), it
can be verified. In 2011, they serviced more than 1.3 million
gamblers with profits exceeding £146.5 million. How does a
company get to be this size? All will be revealed in our history
of William Hill.
William Hill (founder) Born in 1903
The William Hill story begins with the July 16, 1903 birth of
their founder and namesake, William Hill. He was born in
Birmingham, England, the second of 13 children in a strict
family. As a young lad, he attended Oldknow Road School before
leaving to work on his uncle’s farm at the age of 12. He later,
still as a child, worked for BSA works in Birmingham. Perhaps
rebellious over his strict upbringing, overcrowded home, and
working life, at age 16, Hill lied about his age and jumped on a
wagon to join the Black and Tans.
William Hill Gambling
Legend has it that William Hill developed a passion for
horseracing and bookmaking at a young age. During his days with
BSA works, he was introduced to betting. While with the Black
and Tans, he was stationed in Mallow, County Cork, Ireland. From
here he spent his free time taking bets from Moss Foley’s pub.
Returning from duty, he remained in the bookmaking business on a
small scale.
Hill’s first attempt at legal bookmaker came in 1925 as an on
course bookmaker at the Birmingham tracks. Due to the inability
to lay off a couple large bets, he soon lost all his capital. 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. This was the start of the company known
today as William Hill. At the time, cash bookmaking was still
illegal. Hill used a loophole in the law that required “credit
only” betting by having punters provide checks (in person or via
post) weeks in advanced. These were cashed only after the event
had taken place, making it fully legal while he also retained
lawful recourse against any bounced checks.
Hill then continued to build his business on “trust”. At the
time, gambling debts weren’t enforceable by law, so bookies
didn’t even need to legally pay punters. While there were many
scams, his business grew to some 500,000 serviced by the 1960’s
because of his reputation as an honest businessman who pays
winners.
William Hill Gambling App
The Invention of Fixed Odds Football Betting
In 1944, William Hill became the first bookie to offer fixed
odds on football betting. The
history of Ladbrokes reported elsewhere often fails to give
him credit. No doubt Ladbrokes was the first UK- licensed
betting shop to offer fixed odds; however, William Hill was
doing so as a credit bookmaker much earlier. In fact, court
records indicate he preceded Ladbrokes, and he successfully sued
them in the early 1960’s for copying his ticket. Being the good
sport that he was, he asked for only £1 damages plus costs,
which the House of Lords granted.
William Hill as a Breeder
By the late 1930’s, William Hill had become the first ever
self-made millionaire bookie. While continuing his bookmaking
empire, he became passionate about breeding horses. He purchased
a stud at Whitsbury in Hampshire in 1943 (Nimbus) that in 1949
won the Two Thousand Guineas and Derby. In 1945, he purchased
Sezincote stud in Gloucestershire that won the 1953 Derby. He
also won a Classic with Cantelo in the 1959 St. Leger and the
Gimcrack Stake and Champagne Stake in 1958 with Be Careful.
William Hill the First Ever PLC Bookmaker
In 1954, William Hill moved his business to a shell company
called Holder’s Investment Trust to secure a position as the
first bookmaker ever publicly-listed on the London Stock
Exchange. From 1955 to 1961, he sold portions of his shares for
in excess of £5 million.
William Hill Personal Life
In order to explain William Hill’s late move into the betting
shop business, it’s important to cover his personal life. In
1923, he married Ivy Burley (nicknamed Daisy), who was a
hairdresser in Birmingham. They had their first and only child
the following year, Kathleen Hill (nicknamed Bubbles) who later
became Kathleen Lavinia after her marriage. She passed away at
the age of 37. The Saint Leonard’s Parish Church of Whitsbury,
located near the track where he purchased his first stud, to
this day bears the words:
“To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of their daughter
Kathleen Lavinia, Born 10th Feb 1924 Died 27 Nov 1961. This
church was restored and refurnished in 1963 by William and Ivy
Hill”.
Hill was not a money hungry coldhearted bookie. During his
lifetime, he raced and bred horses with a passion, took regular
fishing trips, and sponsored youth cricket leagues. He was a
devout Roman Catholic and Socialist. When the UK legalized
betting shops, effective May 1, 1961, he was outspoken against
them. He went as far as calling them a cancer on society that
preyed on the working man. In his opinion, betting was a
recreational activity and competition for those who could afford
it. He was a good bookie and made millions many times over in
his lifetime due to hard work, trust, and running an honest
shop.
By 1966, however, betting shops had become so widespread in
the UK, that traditional bookies had no choice but to adapt.
Hill began investing in the betting shop empire known today. In
1970, he retired and passed away the following year.
Ownership After William Hill’s Death
When William Hill died on October 16, 1971, the business was
taken over by Sears Plc. Many William Hill history articles
associate it with Sears Holdings Group, which has 4,000 retail
locations under Sears and Kmart brand names. This is NOT the
same Sears. The Sears that took over William Hill is a UK
conglomerate in the retail shoes business. Their current brands
include Barratts and Priceless Shoes. While under Sears’
ownership, the company grew to 1800 legal betting shops by 1988.
In 1989, William Hill was purchased by Brent Walker. The same
year, they became the official bookmaker of Golf’s PGA European
Tour with betting shops located on course. 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. The law
prohibiting them from being open on Sundays was also repealed; the ability to advertise in newspapers, on television, and
on the radio was granted. Private Scratchcards were legalized and soon
were offered at William Hill shops.
With betting now mainstream, Walker cashed in, selling them
Nomura (Grand Bookmaking Companies) for £700m. They sold it 2
years later in 1999 to Cinven and CVC Partners for £825 million.
Finally, in 2002, William Hill was successfully floated on the
London Stock Exchange for approximately £1 billion.
William Hill Online
In 2000, William Hill launched an off-shore phone-in betting
shop. It used a call center in Athlone, Ireland, which accepted
bets for William Hill International based in Antigua where the
tax was only 3%. That same year, they became the first UK
bookmaker to offer tax-free betting via the Internet. Oddly
enough, despite being known by all bettors alive as William,
they had to use the domain willhill.com. The domain
williamhill.com was already in use by a winery in California.
The winery stopped using it in late 2005, and William Hill the
bookmaker acquired it in 2009, redirecting the brand they had
built.
As you can imagine, this was already the largest betting
brand in the world, and their growth as an online company was a
natural transition. These days there are many multiple language
betting sites, but when William Hill entered the market full
scale in 2000, there were few. They already were popular
internationally and were the biggest bookmaker in the UK. Their
growth came fast when launched in 2000 supporting English,
Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese,
Norwegian, and Finnish languages. In late 2000, they added an
online casino to their offering and then an online poker room in
2003. On April 17, 2002, William Hill signed a deal with the
British Horseracing Board for the commercial use of data. This
made full racing data available on their online website.
After successful floating on the London Stock Exchange in
2002, numerous acquisitions followed. In September of 2002,
William Hill purchased Sunderland Greyhound Stadium. In March
the following year, Brough Park Greyhound Stadium was added. 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. In 2008, it went into
partnership with the world’s largest casino software provider
and poker network operator, Playtech.
As mentioned above, William Hill remains the world’s largest
betting brand. The website is available in 24 languages, 10
currencies, and it supports sports and horse race betting, financial
betting, casino, poker, bingo, skill games, and arcade games. This is
no doubt one of the safest and most well-regulated websites for
online gamblers.