The five-year "growth opportunity" of Australia for bookmaker William Hill could end abruptly, according to media sources, as it views mounting costs with concern.
Former CEO Ralph Topping led the purchase of Sportingbet in 2013 for A$670m (£486m) at the same time as it spent another A34m on tomwaterhouse.com
At the time Australia was a prime opportunity as it had passed gambling laws, but now the Australian government is considering a new tax on gambling revenue similar to the UK’s VAT. It would mean that the Aussie government could tax bets made by Australians even if they are betting on a site based outside of Australia.
There are also moves to bring in a credit betting ban that is causing William Hill some concerns. As a result the company has begun a strategic review of the division. In 2016 its Australian offshoot brought in seven per cent of William Hill's £1.6bn revenues.
