William Hill has named former rival Tom Waterhouse the new head of the bookmaking giant’s Australian operations.
UK-based Hills paid A$35 million last year to add the popular TomWaterhouse.com to its Australian holdings, plus an earn-out of up to $70 million based on operating profit through the end of last year.
The Australian division also includes the Sportingbet and Centrebet brands.
Hills company posted a record 22 million in wagers on the 2014 World Cup corporate-wide, handily beating its £200 million World Cup turnover target even before the final match. The company hasn’t released final results yet, but it’s expected they will more than double the revenue recorded during the 2010 tournament.
The company’s strong Australian presence undoubtedly helped, reporting A$24 million in World Cup wagers, better than Tatts Group’s $17 million but considerably under Betfair Australia’s, which totaled $52 million. Paddy Power’s Australian subsidiary Sportsbet took in $74 million. Tabcorp led the market with $120 million, thanks in part to its exclusive wagering sponsorship with local broadcasters.
Australian bettors wagered a total of $287 million on the month-tournament, which was held in Brazil and ended July 13 with Germany’s overtime 1-0 victory against Argentina.
