Poker Sites
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 William
Hill was established in 1934, and has grown to be one of the two largest bookmakers in the United Kingdom.
(Ladbrokes is the other.) William Hill PLC is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the
FTSE 250 (making it one of the 250 largest companies on the exchange).
The company operates over two thousand brick and mortar betting shops in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Isle of Man.
While the company is best known for its bookmaking shops, it also offers an interactive television channel, telephone betting
and a fast growing family of Internet betting websites that covers sports betting, casino games and an online poker room. The
company states it believes its Internet operations, began in 1998, are more profitable than Ladbrokes or other UK bookmakers.
William Hill's profits for 2005 were £111 million, which represented a drop from £148.3 in 2004. Profits for the first half
of 2006 were up about 30% over 2005. The the fourth quarter of 2006 the company was trading at about 650p. Unlike the US
facing companies, this represented its approximate high for the previous year. Earnings per share for 2005 were 28.5p.
The company's earnings from online poker increased 44% in the first six months of 2006 over the same period in 2005,
but poker still remains a relatively minor contributor to the company's profits.
William Hill's poker product is a skin of the cardroom powered by Cryptologic software. Cryptologic is a NASDAQ
listed company. The cardroom stopped taking United States players after the passage of the
Safe Port Act.
Fidelity and Barclays together own over 25% of Will Hill shares.
Its headquarters is located at Greenside House, 50 Station Road, Wood Green London N22 7TP United Kingdom.
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