, William Hill, along with the Club CalNeva satellite racing and sportsbook division in northern Nevada, acquired 72 Leroy’s Hose & Sports Place Sportsbook and kiosk parent American Wagering Inc. for $18 million.
It was followed by a $14.25 million purchase on Tuesday of Brandywine Bookmaking LLC in Las Vegas, which runs 16 Lucky’s sports books in Nevada.
William Hill expects licenses from Nevada regulators to be completed in 2012. Toping said he does not expect regulatory issues with Gibraltar gaming licenses.
“We’re a very reputable business. We’ve been in business for 76 years,” he said. “Once the (Nevada) regulator understands what William Hill is doing to our company, I think they’ll be happy with it.”
The evaluation of these companies reflects Nevada’s sports betting growth despite the still sluggish casino industry after three years of recession.
“We didn’t buy these companies for quick profit,” Toping said. “We’re an outdated company that manages these businesses for the long term.”
According to state regulators, sports books in Nevada amounted to about $2.7 billion in 2010. The total revenue from games last year was $151.1 million, which was just 5.5 percent of total wages.
Meanwhile, the number of sports books has increased by 11 percent over the past decade. The growth was driven by soccer, which made up $1.093 billion, or 43 percent of total income last year.
The UK’s sports betting industry is also led by football, with teams playing with round balls and names like Arsenal or Manchester United, not San Diego or Pittsburgh.
Sports betting is more widely accepted in the U.K., where bookmakers sponsor professional franchises. SBOBET, a sports betting company in the Philippines, sponsors West Ham United, a team in the English Premier League. It is not allowed on this side of the pond.
Topping, who was named chief executive of William Hill in 2008, has a second job. He was named president of the Scottish Premier League in 2009.
“I think gambling is much more socially accepted in Europe,” he said. “It is well known that I love football.”
It is also well known that being the chief executive of FTSE 150 companies has been attractive to the league.
“They had some issues and needed some direction,” Top said. “Our business is strongly regulated. The game is not risky because William Hill’s CEO is the chairman. If anything helps the league.”
While most sports books in Nevada are related to casinos, “betting shops” in the UK are almost everywhere.
William Hill operates 2,359 athletics sports betting sites across the UK. It also owns 71 percent of William Hill Online.
“We will integrate our current management into William Hill,” Topping said. 메이저 토토사이트
