More choosy British punters are turning away from the established large bookmakers and instead giving their business to the newer breed of online gaming sites.
 
This week one such bookmaking Giant said their profits were down as a result of increased competition in the online market.
 
British bookmaker Willam Hill Plc, the owner of more than 2000 UK betting shops, said its annual profits fell short of analysts’ predictions by a bout 2 per cent after a disappointing year from its online arm.

The company’s earnings before tax, interest and one-off items were £285m, this was short of the £292m estimates made by city experts. The news hit Hill’s shares, dropping as much as 6 per cent on yesterdays trading.

The bookmaker said that the shortfall in profits was largely due to “increased competition” and “legacy technology issues”. The company recently replaced its Nextgen technology with a third-party program at a cost of around £22m, which was spread over the 2007 and 2008 results. William Hill’s retail arm, which accounts for about 80 per cent of its profits, performed strongly.

Rumours have been circulating that the new third-party platform will be provided by gaming technology provider Orbis. Although there has been no confirmation from either party, sources in the bookmaking business believe it is a “done deal”.

William Hill already outsources its poker, casino and bingo technology provision from companies such as CryptoLogic and Virtue Fusion.
 
With regulation of the industry consumer’s confidence in new online sites has increased dramatically.
 
Newly established sites are offering punters improved odds and sops and as they attempt to get a concrete share of the market and many are targeting the bigger betting firm’s customer base.

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