Bookmaker News – Are William Hill the Next to Target Aussie Market?

Following on from a story we ran a couple of weeks ago, it appears William Hill are serious about increasing their share of the global internet betting market at the expense of other areas of their core business. The London-based organisation recently revealed that their shop-based business has continued to decline in the UK, making it all the more important that the company flourishes in other fields. As far as fields go, there aren’t many further away than those in Australia but, if rumours are to be believed, that’s where William Hill are to invest a considerable percentage of their acquisition fighting fund in the coming months by tabling a bid for Aussie betting giants Centrebet. Now expansion into the Antipides is nothing new for UK/Ireland-based betting operators (Paddy Power have a controlling interest in Sportsbet and IASbet, while Betfair began covering horse racing in the states of Tasmania and Victoria in 2006 and now have product sharing agreements with most of the major sports bodies Down Under) but Australia’s gambling laws don’t exactly welcome new players into the country with open arms and any purchase will, by definition, be a protracted affair. The top brass at Centrebet are refusing to comment on the mooted £90million deal, reported in last week’s Sunday Times, but the story would make sense in that William Hill are known to be looking at new markets to invest in having withdrawn from both Italy and Spain recently. However, they may not be alone in expressing an interest in Centrebet. Coral and Ladbrokes would welcome an opportunity to move into Australia via the back door, while bwin seem to have plenty of cash to throw around in a bid to expand their portfolio outside of Europe. The Austria-based company is already making overtures in the US after all. With a draft report recommending an overhaul of the archaic 2001 Interactive Gambling Act in Australia, this vast country is shaping up to be the next betting industry battleground.