Hills exits Australia ahead of Nevada hearing
William Hill licence application on Gaming Control Board agenda for 6 " 7 June " Australian customers blocked in move to ensure operator is compliant in all jurisdictions.
William Hill will shut down its Australian sportsbook in a move to ensure safe passage of its pending Nevada licence application ahead of a hearing at the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) either today or tomorrow, reports suggest.
Sports betting affiliate Sportsbook Review reported late last week that Hills would no longer allow Australian customers to open new accounts, and that it had contacted existing customers to instruct them to withdraw their funds as soon as possible. In an email sent to customers, Hills explained: “Please be advised that we have taken the decision to withdraw our sports betting service for any customer registered in Australia.”
The withdrawal is thought to be an attempt to ensure the operator is fully compliant with egaming legislation in every jurisdiction in which it operates and to smoothen the path to gaining licensing approval in Nevada.
The NGCB agenda for 6 to 7 June includes a number of hearings related to Hills, including applications for finding of suitability as a publicly traded corporation; suitability findings for its board of directors; approval for the acquisitions of Brandywine and American Wagering Inc. (AWI), and the formation of a US subsidiary, William Hill US Holdco Inc.
The hearing comes after the operator’s application for a land-based gaming licence was delayed in April, with regulators requiring additional time to investigate key employees and Hills’ joint venture with Playtech. The company’s head of strategy and corporate development Robin Chhabra “ responsible for the Brandywine and AWI acquisitions “ was put under greater scrutiny after it emerged that he had been fined US$150,000 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in February 2010 after he “passed confidential information” to a friend, according The Guardian newspaper.
The Guardian went on to report Hills’ troubled JV with Playtech was also to be investigated over the role of the software provider’s founder and majority shareholder Teddy Sagi, who spent time in prison for bribery and fraud in 1996.
William Hill CEO Ralph Topping admitted in February that the JV “needed to change” following a number of public disagreements between the companies, culminating in a mass walkout from Hills’ Tel Aviv office, which saw operations shut down for ten days.