William Hill plans cost cuts to offset new tax regime

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March 20th, 2014

Bookmaker William Hill said today it planned to cut costs by up to £20m in 2015 to offset the impact of a new tax regime for online gambling.

William Hill said it was well placed to take advantage of what it called a "market changing" event when the planned tax change in the UK takes effect in December.

The comments came as William Hill reported operating profit of £335m in 2013, an increase of 3% on the same time the previous year.

Revenue for the year rose 18% to £1.49 billion of which net retail revenue accounted for £907m, up 10%, and online revenue rose 12% to £446m.

Online gambling companies are jostling for customers as the industry faces a shake-up over government plans to close a loophole that has allowed businesses to base their online activities offshore to cut their tax bills.

"While it will lead to a significant additional cost for the group, we do believe there is potential for larger scale operators to benefit from increased market share as smaller operators may be squeezed out of the market by the additional tax burden," the company said.

 Friday 28 February 2014 09.15  

 <http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2014/0228/507339-william-hill-results/#>  

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