William Hill To Move Offshore

Ralph Topping, William Hill chief executive, mentioned that the bookmaker would be moving its telephone and internet operations offshore.

“We face worldwide competition from 400 or so English-language betting websites. In these circumstances, clearly we do not have the luxury of being parochial about our future or taking a simplistic stance on complicated issues,” Topping told the Financial Times.

Topping mentioned that the competitive pressures it found itself under were behind the bookmaker’s decision to close 20 betting shops in the UK this year and to freeze the pay of 16,000 staff.

According to figures released by the Racecourse Owners Association, the UK government could lose up to £45m a year in taxation if the three leading UK bookmakers, William Hill, Ladbrokes and Coral, relocated their online and telephone businesses offshore.