William Hill

Introduction

With over 2,390 retail outlets across the Great Britain and Northern Ireland and a popular website to boot, William Hill plc. is one of the largest bookmakers trading in the UK today.

The company was founded by Hill back in 1939 when gambling was illegal, but flourished with the relaxing of the laws in 1960. Now under the stewardship of chairman Gareth Davies and CEO James Henderson, the company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and has a market capitalisation value of £3.01 billion and 875,000,000 shares in issue, as of 4th August 2014.

William Hill became the first bookmakers to launch an online Sportsbook in 1998, and now claims to be a market leader in both 'land-based' and 'online' business. These world-wide business ventures offer employment to over 17,000 people in the UK, Gibraltar, Israel, Bulgaria, Spain, the US, Australia and the Philippines. A global and inclusive brand, William Hill were the shirt-sponsor of Malaga CF in Spain's top football division for a season and are the long-time sponsors of Kempton Park's King George VI Chase.

Betting Markets

The William Hill sportsbook homepage primarily deals with live in-play bets and forth-coming events of concern. The in-play markets are displayed with tabs so the punter can select their most preferred sport, whilst the list of up-coming fixtures and tournaments that make up the main body of the homepage concern a variety of sports rather than just the most popular markets. It is not uncommon for special offers to be shown here as well so it is always worth keeping an eye on those.

There is a right hand column displaying the user's betting slip, the most popular wagers of the day and a list of news and previews. Also listed up this side are links to Hill's social media websites.

Links to all available sporting markets can be found running across the top of this homepage. There are 29 links on display here, not a great choice though William Hill redeem themselves somewhat by keeping the more niche markets such as volleyball, hurling and motor bikes regularly updated. Other less popular categories include handball, ice hockey and winter sports with the bookmaker also renowned for their focus on the TV/specials markets.

Selecting one of these links takes the punter to the relevant sport's homepage. These pages can be personalised to some degree by selecting the array of icons that top the page with these once again preceding in-play markets and future events of interest.

Scrolling down the football homepage will see a table of countries divided into competitions and tournaments that can be clicked on to send the user to that particular event's relevant page. From here punters can click on their preferred tie to see a list of available markets to be bet on. As an example, a popular Premier League fixture would have around 200 playable markets whilst a conference clash would have a little more than 100. Still, William Hill should be applauded for their choice and there simple icons to allow users to easily move to their market of choice ('Scorers and Corners', 'Goals', 'Goal Time' etc.) without having to scroll through a list of undesirable options. The punter with time on their hands, however, can select the 'All Markets' link and look through the odds on every variable at their leisure.

By clicking on their fancied homepage, gee-gee backers will be able to view a list of the next three races and advertised odds on the big feature races of the day as well as those of up-coming events. Scrolling down further will reveal a table of UK and Ireland meetings preceding those for meetings taking place abroad.

Selecting a particular race takes the users to a fantastically detailed though not over-facing dedicated race page. Here, punters can check out the going and a summary of the Racing Post's verdict. Once a bet has been placed, the user can listen to their race using the William Hill radio link provided or, should they have bet at least £1, watch their race live on WHTV. Selecting the 'Complete Form' link opens a new window showing the extensive list of form for each run.

The table of odds displayed beneath these links manages to be thorough in its detail whilst also extensively covering everything a punter may wish to know about their tip. The age, the form and the weight the horse carries is displayed clearly, as is the horse's number and the stall from which it will leave (if applicable). The Racing Post's official racing is also present before the previous and current odds of the runner. Punters also get the choice to select this early price or the starting price though it is never advisable to bet on the SP whilst the bet odds are guaranteed on all UK and Ireland races (see Custom Service).

Once a bet has been placed using the bet slip, the user then gets the option to write their own assessment of their choice using the tip advisor application. The number of tips a horse receives is then displayed in the odds table next to the Racing Post rating. Clicking on the tip advisor icon will see the customer able to read what other confident punters have to say of their selection. This is a fascinating interactive point of difference.

Customer Service

All William Hill promotions can be accessed by selecting the 'Promotions' link beneath the main sports toolbar that tops the sportsbook homepage. The bookmaker does not have an extensive catalogue of promotions and products with those that are available being concerned only with football, horse racing and greyhound racing.

The first deal on the promotions page is an accumulator insurance for punters whose football accumulator bets miss out by just one leg. The insurance promises the user their money back in the form of a matched deposit to the value of their original stake. For such bets to qualify for this promotion, money must be staked on an accumulator of six or more teams with the total amount of money placed not exceeding £50.

The goalscorer second chance promotion also sees the user's stake returned (up to the value of £50) should their first goalscorer tip grab the second goal of the game. Bear in mind that should the first goal be an own-goal, the second goalscorer will count as the first and William Hill will reimburse those who placed money on the third goalscorer breaking the deadlock.

Football singles and accumulators are now also available to be cashed out before the event has finished with the new 'Cash in my Bet' feature. This allows those who are currently winning with their in-play bets to withdraw their bet before the final whistle has been blown. Whilst cashing out sees punters receive a lesser return, it stops a late goal from scuppering their chances of winning nothing at all. This feature can be obtained by finding the betting slip up the right hand side of the page, and selecting the open bets tab. From here the user will be able to decide whether or not they want to stick or twist.

Lovers of the dogs and gee-gees can be assured of getting the best odds guaranteed on their bets, meaning that the bookmaker will give the customer the starting price on their winning bets should this SP be greater than the initial price taken.

Other horse racing extras include William Hill's free racing radio and live television streams of UK and Ireland racing for those who have bet £1 or greater on the race in question.

By clicking on the 'View the full T&C's' link, the customer will be greeted with a new window with the terms and conditions specific to the promotion clearly and concisely displayed.

In Summary

It could be argued that William Hill provide the most simple online betting experience with information offered in a tidy, easily understood way.

There is though very little choice for those who want to bet in more niche markets and even football fans may be disappointed with the number of promotions and bonus deals that are currently on offer. With the radio function and WHTV alongside the Racing Post summary and tip advisor tool, fans of horse racing will surely not be disappointed in the number of features aimed at them.

Terms and Conditions Apply - Age restricted to 18+ Please see site for full details

Terms and Conditions

New William Hill online customers only. Min. unit stake of £10/€10 at odds of 1/2 or greater. Only the “win” part from EW bets will count. Free bet terms, payment method & country restrictions apply. Free bets credited as 3 x £10/€10. Free bet stakes are not returned as part of the settlement of successful free bets. All Free Bets must be wagered within 30 days.

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