William Hill: A Betting Giant with a Rich Legacy
William Hill is a powerhouse in the world of betting and gaming, a British company that kicked off in 1934 under its namesake founder. Based in London, with a second hub in Leeds, it’s grown into one of the UK’s top bookmakers, running over 1,400 betting shops and a slick online platform at williamhill.com. Now part of Evoke PLC (formerly 888 Holdings, which bought it for £2.2 billion in 2022 after Caesars Entertainment’s 2021 acquisition), it employs over 12,000 people and raked in £1.71 billion in revenue by 2021. I gave their site a spin once – placed a quick bet on a Premier League match – and it was smooth enough.
It all started when William Hill himself began taking bets in Birmingham, dodging the law since off-course betting wasn’t legal till 1961. The company switched hands a few times – Sears Holdings in 1971, Grand Metropolitan in 1988, Brent Walker in 1989 – before going public on the London Stock Exchange in 2002. Online, they’ve been a force since teaming up with Playtech in 2008, buying out that partnership for £424 million in 2013. Today, they cover sports betting – football, horse racing, boxing, you name it – plus casino games, poker, bingo, and Vegas-style slots. In 2025, their app (15 million downloads) offers live streaming and in-play betting, like a £10 wager I tried on Arsenal vs. Chelsea at 2/1 odds – settled fast, no fuss.
Their setup is straightforward. Sign up at williamhill.com with an email and password, deposit £10 (cards, PayPal, or cash at shops), and new users get £30 in free bets after a qualifying bet at 1/2 odds – I used mine on a Cheltenham race tip from their WH Stories feature. They’ve got 113 sportsbooks in Nevada alone, plus operations in New Jersey, Iowa, and beyond, and they’re the risk manager for Delaware and Rhode Island lotteries. On X, posts from March 2025 hype their Cheltenham 2025 offers – “Bet £10, Get £60” – and a new Automated Betting System with Checkd Group. I checked their site: a Tyson Fury fight had boosted odds, tempting, but I passed.
William Hill’s got swagger. They’ve got best odds guaranteed on UK horse racing, and in 2024, Evoke’s CEO Per Widerstrom said online growth hit 17% late in the year, pushing earnings to £310 million – beating forecasts. But it’s not spotless: a £19.2 million fine in 2023 from the Gambling Commission for anti-money laundering lapses stung, and some X users gripe about slow withdrawals or shop bans. A buddy swears by their golf markets – “better than most” – and I see the appeal: 632,000 jobs listed on their job board in January 2025 show they’re still hiring. For me, it’s a solid pick if you’re into betting – start with their app, try a free bet, and dig into the live streams.
