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The Iconic History Behind the William Hill Empire
By GamblersPick Apr 17, 2020In the world of gambling, there's one name on the minds of every avid better. Explore the history behind the William Hill bookmaker empire.If sports betting is your thing, chances are you've heard of William Hill. But do you really know who William Hill, the bookmaker, is? Or how much influence he's had on sports betting around the world?
If you've placed a bet on a game, on a horse, or even a greyhound in the past few decades, there's a chance that you've made that bet at a William Hill sportsbook or even used one of their kiosks. Today we're going to give you a little history lesson about William Hill and the William Hill bookmakers. Read on if you want to learn more.
History of William Hill
William Hill, the name behind the bookmaking empire, was born in Birmingham, England in 1903. He only went to school until age 12, then worked on his uncle's farm rather than completing his schooling. It was then that he started taking bets, riding his motorcycle around taking bets (which were illegal) throughout his community.
In the 1920s, he became part-owner of a greyhound race track in London. In 1934, he created his first off-track betting store, under the guise of a postal and telephone betting services, as bookmaking as illegal. He was able to get around existing laws by taking a credit-only approach.
Because bookmaking was illegal, there was no way to force bookies to actually pay out winnings to bettors, but Hill was an honest businessman and always paid out winning bets. This honesty allowed his business to flourish and eventually, his company was incorporated to become William Hill (Park Lane) Ltd.
William Hill in the UK
In the UK, Hill was the first to offer fixed odds on football betting and expanded his booking services to Scotland. In the 1950s and 1960s, William Hill had over 400,000 customers and the company began to be traded on the London Stock Exchange.
In 1961, cash-based betting and betting shops were legalized in the UK, much to Hill's dismay, as he felt that betting should be a hobby only. Nevertheless, he decided to expand his company and continued to do so until he died in 1971. Since his death, ownership of William Hill changed hands several times.
Now, they have offices in the UK, Ireland, and Gibraltar and offer sports betting, skill-based games, online bingo, online poker, and online casino games and have over 1600 shops in the UK.
William Hill in the US
William Hill has expanded to the US and was the first European operator to get a full gaming license in Nevada in 2012 and operates 113 race and sportsbooks in Nevada. William Hill isn't only in Nevada either. They operate in New Jersey, West Virginia, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, and New Mexico.
Now that sports betting has been given the green light to expand in the US, William Hill is set to open a sportsbook at the Capital One Arena in Washington DC, which is where the Washington Wizards and the Washington Capitals play. They're also expected to operate books in Maryland if the state legislature gives betting the ok.
Bet With Confidence
The long history of William Hill bookmakers in the UK and their recent expansion in the US makes them a trusted and well-known betting company. If you want to try your hand at sports or race betting, you can't go wrong with a company like William Hill.
For everything you need to know about online casinos, how to bet, how to win, and pretty much anything you want to know about casinos, explore the rest of our blog and site.
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