William Hill launches Irish site; Sportingbet agree Centrebet deal

Jamie Hinks
May 26, 2011
3 Comments

william-hillWilliam Hill is giving the people of Ireland even more opportunity to become lucky. The bookmaker has launched a site specifically geared towards those living in the Republic in an attempt to tap into even more of the €1billion Irish online gaming market. If they didn’t have enough to cheer about being the home of Guinness and all, Irish punters will now have an extra 500,000 betting opportunities every week. In addition, players will be able to enjoy bingo, poker, casino, live casino, Vegas and slot games.

“We’re really excited about our new Irish venture and we’re confident it will be a huge hit with Irish punters,” said Tony Kenny, Head of International Public Relations at William Hill, “The site itself took a year to design, develop and test, but all good things take time.”

Mobile betting hasn’t been overlooked, as bettors will be able to take advantage of Hills’ four mobile apps that are on offer. Now just to see whether all those bowls of Lucky Charms you ate when a child was in vain or not.

Australian flagIn more sportsbook news, Sportingbet has followed their earlier results announcement with a statement that they’ve agreed the terms for the takeover of Centrebet. They will acquire the Australian online bookie for around £130m. That money will come from an issue of new shares and a convertible bond.

Chief executive of Sportingbet, Andrew McIver, commented, “This acquisition is a major step forward for Sportingbet as it accelerates the Group’s strategy of increasing its exposure to regulated markets and of geographic diversification,” adding that it would become the largest bookmaker in the “fast-Growing” Australian market.

154,761,904 of the new shares at a price of 42p each and the remainder will be raised through £65m in nominal value of convertible bonds. Well it all moves them closer to the all important world domination dream.

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Tags: Article, Centrebet, Sportingbet, William Hill
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