It’s doesn’t happen often but when it does a wave of joy spreads over the country. When a bookmaker loses big time it renews our faith in the practice of betting.

That’s why the news that William Hill lost over £7 million on this years Grand National was greeted with joy from Dundee to Devon!

The loss was so bad it wiped out the bookmaker’s considerable profits for the rest of the three-day event.

The company backed down on eventual winner Comply or Die from earlier odds of eleven to one to make the horse the seven to one co-favourite on the day of the race. When the David Pipe trained nine-year-old won, it represented the bookie's biggest loss for the first 16 weeks of the new financial year.

According to a piece in The Daily Telegraph newspaper, Ralph Topping, Chief Executive for William Hill, stated that the result was ‘an absolute stinker’ and stifled growth for over-the-counter gross wins to three percent for the period despite largely favourable results elsewhere.

'I watched the race with my Trading Director and I have never seen a man more nervous,' said Topping.

'He was down on his knees.'

However, the gross win through the firm’s network of 2,250 shops rose seven percent for the period, boosted by a 16 percent rise from machine income as customers made the most of extended evening opening hours and new products such as blackjack. Topping stated that he has not seen any evidence of a consumer slowdown and dismissed fears over a regulatory crackdown on fixed-odds betting terminals.

It’s not the first time this year that William Hill’s profits took a blow after a failed website relaunch in January wiped £22 million off the company’s profits.

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