by Renee Israel
The "worst ever Royal Ascot", as well as a "relatively weak Grand National" contributed to a 33% drop in net telephone revenues for William Hill bookmakers, the group said in a statement.
"Poor horse racing results" has led William Hill to drop broad hints that it could very well be considering a transfer of its telephone betting business to an offshore location, in a bid to keep up with competitors.
"The board has previously noted the challenge of competing with UK betting exchanges and Irish offshore telebetting operators, all of whom have benefitted from significant tax and cost advantages over UK bookmakers," said the group in a statement. "The situation is under active review."
Many in the racing industry are pressing to introduce higher levies from UK bookmakers to support the market, and William Hill's intentions to relocate will definitely antagonize these parties.
William Hill published its half yearly trading update and noted, among other things "online net revenue growth of approximately 24% and operating profit approximately 43% higher than in the prior year."
William Hill is predicting earnings of about £135 million for the first half of 2010, up from last year's £134.6 million.
The group also said that strong betting on the recent World Cup offset horse racing losses, especially since this year's tournament proved to be very profitable for bookies.
Fewer punters backed their favourites, which gave William Hill a good return overall.
In addition, patriotic bets on the English side - which was ousted relatively early from the tournament - also benefitted William Hill.
