William Hill shuts Philippines base amid allegations of illegal gambling activity
Bookmaker understands other operators subject to "similar investigations" as Philippines' authorities investigate allegations of "illegal gambling activities"
William Hill is under investigation for allegedly “carrying out of illegal gambling activities” in the Philippines, forcing the temporary closure of its Manila-based service centre.
In a statement released yesterday the firm said it had been served notice of an ongoing investigation being carried out by the Philippines National Bureau of Investigation which began last Tuesday.
William Hill has since shut the 490-strong office which opened on an outsourced basis in 2008 before being switched to an independent operation in November 2012 and provides customer support and back office functions to its online business.
A spokesperson for William Hill told eGaming Review this morning that the operator “understands that other operators have experienced similar investigations” which concerns the alleged violation of Section 6 of the Republic Act No. 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012) in relation to Presidential Decree 1602.
The operator denies any wrong doing and underlined the fact it is a member of the country’s government-run PEZA scheme which it said “incentivises businesses, on a fully transparent basis, to establish and run operations in the Philippines”.
“With regards to these allegations, we believe that there are no activities occurring in our Philippines operation which are contrary to law,” the firm said in yesterday’s statement.
“At this stage we are comfortable with our expectations for 2014 and will update the market as necessary,” it added.
The operator said it had implemented measures to ensure customers would not be affected by the closure of the office and ensured there was sufficient cover for services normally provided by its Manila team.