William Hill, the UK and US sports betting giant that was acquired by Caesars Entertainment for GBP 2.9 billion (US$3.86 billion) in April, says it is shuttering three of its online casino brands in Europe.
William Hill announced this week that come January, the gaming behemoth will terminate the operations of EuroGrand, 21Nova, and Casino Club. Company officials say the decision is part of its effort to streamline its European iGaming operations.
We have taken a strategic decision to close our EuroGrand, 21 Nova. and William Hill Casino Club brands. This comes as part of our continuous evaluation of our brands and business footprint,” a statement from William Hill explained.
William Hill brass added that the group will cease those iGaming operations in order to better focus on its Mr. Green and William Hill internet gaming platforms.
January Deadline
William Hill detailed that EuroGrand, 21 Nova, and Casino Club players have until Monday, January 24, 2022, to withdraw funds from their accounts. Patrons who transfer their accounts to Mr. Green or William Hill will be grandfathered into a similar rewards tier.
William Hill says marketing efforts for the three interactive casino networks have been abandoned. No new player accounts are being accepted.
EuroGrand and 21Nova both debuted in 2006, while Casino Club commenced operations three years later in 2009.
Mr. Green, which is today one of the largest online gaming destinations in Europe, was founded in 2007 in Malta. William Hill acquired Mr. Green in January of 2019 for £242 million in cash.
Once the sites go offline, William Hill will continue to own and operate six UK-facing online casino sites. Along with the company’s namesake internet gaming platform and Mr. Green, William Hill will continue to run Redbet, 11.lv, Bertil, and Mama Mia Bingo.
William Hill reported that of its $1.76 billion in 2020 revenue, its online operations accounted for 61 percent of the income. Retail generated 26 percent of the gross proceeds, and the company’s US operations represented the remaining 13 percent.
William Hill’s UK business generated the lion’s share of revenue at 64 percent. Along with the 13 percent in the US, the remaining 23 percent was derived from other international markets.
Ongoing Divestiture
William Hill in 2022 will be a far different organization than it was prior to Caesars Entertainment’s acquisition of the UK bookmaker. Caesars made it well known during its $3.86 billion assumption of the group that it had no interest in maintaining ownership of William Hill’s more than 1,400 UK betting shops.
In September, Caesars announced it would sell William Hill’s non-US assets to 888 Holdings Plc for approximately £2.2 billion (US$2.93 billion). After repaying the debt owed by the betting shops and other non-US assets, Caesars expects to receive net proceeds from the transaction of roughly $1.2 billion.
William Hill’s US sportsbooks are largely no more, too. The sports betting locations in Nevada and the 16 other states where the company is live have predominantly been rebranded to Caesars Sportsbook.
Prior to Caesars’ acquisition, William Hill had more sportsbook locations in Nevada than any other sports betting firm.
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