Punter success hits William Hill
Punter success hits William Hill
A winning streak by punters betting on football and horseracing is set to trim profits at bookmaker William Hill. In a trading update, William Hill said the second half of 2004 saw it "adversely affected" by unfavourable horseracing and football results.
But it said income from the fixed-odds gambling machines in its betting shops would help to offset falls elsewhere.
The firm is predicting an annual profit of about £232m ($435m) for 2004, a 15% increase on 2003's figure.
William Hill operates 1,600 betting shops and also offers telephone and internet gambling.
Stability
Last week, Stanley Leisure reported that it had also been having a tough time in the past few months in horseracing and football betting.
William Hill said it had been hit by "less favourable" horseracing results compared with the first half of the year, and "significantly poorer results in respect of domestic and international football since the start of the current season".
However, the growth in the number of fixed-odds betting machines in its shops has helped to stabilise income, William Hill said.
"Roughly a third of the group's gross win is now derived from 5,500 fixed odds betting terminals in the retail estate, online casino, poker and arcade sites, and virtual and traditional numbers products," it said.
William Hill shares closed up 15.5 pence at 561p.
Harrods puts oil stake up for sale
Harrods puts oil stake up for sale
Harrods chairman Mohammed Al Fayed is looking to scale back his involvement in the oil business.
Harrods Energy, a majority-owned subsidiary of Mr Al Fayed's extensive business empire, has invested $43m (Ј30m) in exploring four offshore blocks in the Gulf of Thailand.
Now, the firm has announced it is seeking a partner to acquire a majority stake, reducing Mr Al Fayed's holding to some 25-30%.
The move has been forced by the cost of developing the oilfields.
"We want to bring in additional equity and expertise," said Alan Armitage, president of Harrods Energy.
Mr Armitage said the likely acquirer would be a multinational petroleum company.
According to reports in the Thai press, Harrods Energy has already approached a range of companies, including American Chevron, Unocal and Amerada Hess, and Anglo-Dutch Shell.
Empire
Mr Al Fayed is best known in Britain for his retail and leisure interests, which aside from Harrods' Knightsbridge store include Fulham Football Club and the Ritz hotel in Paris.
But his business empire ranges much wider, including an online casino and a helicopter chartering firm, among others.
His biggest non-core subsidiary is Harrods Minerals, a Denver-based firm which has gold and copper mining projects in Mongolia and Peru.
Mr Al Fayed is keen to free up capital for investment in Fulham FC, promoted to the premiership at the end of last season.
In February this year, he raised a reported Ј350m against his Knightsbridge store, a move that will boost plans for a new Ј70m stadium for the club.
US gambling law flawed - Jowell
US gambling law flawed - Jowell
The US crackdown on online gambling is a "new prohibition", which is likely to fuel a rise in fraud and exploitation, the UK culture secretary has said. Offshore sites could become the "modern equivalent of speakeasies", illegal bars which opened in 1920s America when alcohol was banned, Tessa Jowell added.
New US laws forbid firms from taking internet bets, and ban banks and credit card firms from allowing web payments.
Ms Jowell said regulating sites worked better than prohibition.
Spending checks
Under UK government plans, the Gambling Commission is to vet sites, giving official approval to those with the best working practices.
Operators will not be allowed to target children and must keep customers informed about how much money they have spent.
Key staff, such as managing directors and finance managers, will also be checked for links to organised crime.
Ms Jowell said: "Broadly speaking we have three choices: you can prohibit, like the US, do nothing or regulate, like we have.
"I firmly believe we have chosen the path that will do the most to protect children and vulnerable people and keep out crime."
She added: "America should have learnt the lessons of prohibition. The Volstead Act [which brought in prohibition in 1919] was meant to stop alcohol from causing harm, but in practice it forced otherwise law-abiding customers into the hands of the bootleggers.
"If it goes wrong, there is a real danger is that off shore sites based in poorly regulated countries will become the modern day equivalent of speakeasies, increasing the risk of exploitation and fraud."
Q&A: Partygaming share offer
Q&A: Partygaming share offer
As pre-market trading begins in online gaming firm Partygaming, owner of Partypoker, BBC News looks at the excitement which has surrounded its flotation. Why has there been so much interest in Partygaming's share offer?
Investors have been clamouring to buy into the company.
The initial public offering was oversubscribed by more than 150%. Even at the price set by the company - 116p, at the lower end of expectations - the float is still the biggest to hit the City since technology company Dimension Data floated in 2000.
Conditional or pre-market trading began on Monday, three days ahead of the official launch of full trading on Thursday, 30 June, and the shares rose 11% to 129p by Monday's close.
Casino promises 500 city jobs
Casino promises 500 city jobs
A company says around 500 new jobs are on their way to Swansea after signing a deal to open a new casino-based entertainment complex in the city. Aspinalls will move in to the new £30m Salubrious Place leisure development in the Wind Street area of Swansea.
Work on the 100,000 square feet complex is set to start in September with the aim of opening in 2006.
The company says prizes of up to £1m will be on offer on either the slot machines or gaming tables.
" One of our key aims will be to recruit from the local workforce whenever and wherever possible "
Damian Aspinall
Director Damian Aspinall said the casino would be among the first in a series of new regional casinos operated by the company following the Government's review of licensing in the UK.
Online gambling trade war breaks out
Online gambling trade war breaks out
A tiny Caribbean nation has filed a complaint against the US at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in order to protect its internet gambling industry. Antigua and Barbuda says laws blocking US residents from using online casinos breach global fair trade rules and threaten a valuable part of its economy.
The move comes a fortnight after the US House of Representatives voted to ban credit-card payments to internet casinos, most of which are based overseas.
The US government has defended the need for controls on internet gambling to protect children and prevent financial crimes such as money laundering.
Jail terms and job losses
But Antigua's government argues that its online casinos are some of the best-regulated in the world.
" We do have very talented, very literate, very well qualified population who have mastered the internet technology "
Sir Ronald Sanders
Antigua's High Commissioner
Empire Online mulling expansion
Empire Online mulling expansion
Internet gaming firm Empire Online has hinted that it is looking to expand in 2006 through mergers and takeovers. The firm, which owns the Noble Poker and Club Dice internet poker and casino sites, made the comments as it reported a 57% rise in annual profits.
Empire said pre-tax profits were $41.2m (£23.5m) during 2005, up from $26.2m the year before.
Chief executive Noam Lanir said the company had "flexibility" to pursue "merger and acquisition activity".
Revenues up
Empire said that at online casino site Club Dice, net revenue a day averaged $79,946 during the fourth quarter of 2005, up 22.4% on the third quarter.
At Noble Poker, active players were up to 29,585 by the end of the fourth quarter of 2005, having increased 36% since the end of the third quarter.
Empire added that it had gained an average of 450 new "real money" players each day during the first few weeks of March.
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