Poll results: Australia is William Hill's biggest online prospect
eGR readers divided on what venture represents operator's best growth opportunity
William Hills’ greatest online opportunity resides Down Under according to eGaming Review readers, however many believed prospects in regulated European markets remain equally attractive.
A slim majority (28%) of readers consider Australia, where it has just acquired online bookmaker Tom Waterhouse, to be the company’s biggest opportunity. Hills has made no secret of its ambitions in the country and CEO Ralph Topping backed Australia to become a key market for the operator.
Hills may have to wait for the Australian market to truly take off, however the operator’s UK sportsbook remains its main driver of revenue. Its mobile product has proven its worth by becoming responsible for 40% of total sportsbook revenue, and 24.5% of readers consider this to be Hills’ best online opportunity in the coming years.
After agreeing a deal with Playtech to join its Italian-facing poker network, Hills is set to complete its online offering in Italy in the coming weeks. Its casino offering claimed a 6.97% market share in March according to regulatory body AAMS, while also claiming a 3.65% share of sportsbetting and 1.62% share of bingo in the country.
The groundwork is there for Hills to build on, and 24.5% of readers consider the Italian market to represent a better opportunity than the hotly contested Australian market and UK mobile sector.
Twenty three percent of readers said Hills’ focus should be on the Spanish online market. The company’s H1 results recorded 22% net growth in Spain, and online gambling has held up despite the country’s economic woes.
However, with Ladbrokes due to launch online gambling in the country through its Sportium brand in the coming months, competition could render the market more trouble than it’s possibly worth.