William Hill’s US move stalled

BOOKMAKER William Hill is said to be struggling to get its foot in the American door. The Guardian reported that the company is allegedly facing obstacles in persuading Nevada regulators to hand over an application for a gaming license. These reports were sparked when its application was left out of the state’s Gaming Control Board in its monthly meeting.

The Guardian quoted a Nevada source close to the process claiming: “We were definitely expecting this on the GCB agenda in April or May. There seem to be a couple of issues the GCB needs to explore.”

Ralph Topping, the bookmakers chief executive said last year that the vote could be taken in Spring. However, seven weeks ago the company implied the license approval was imminent. “Our application is currently being reviewed and we believe the process could complete by the summer of 2012,” it told shareholders in late February.

William Hill insisted that it had “always said” that approval would be gained by October, but declined to explain the other statements. A spokesman added: “We said that this process would take between 12 to 18 months and we believe that a decision will be made in that timeframe. We are fully complying with the whole process and have no further comment to make.”

To gain approval, the three-strong committee would need to all agree on it being passed over to the Gaming Commission. Sometimes applications from international companies take up to two years, so if this anything to go by, William Hill could be waiting a while?

Alongside this, Playtech has also been looked at by the board. Topping said in his blog post last year: “I’ve been through licensing processes before but, I have to say, nothing as extensive as this. And it’s not only at a corporate level that we’re investigated and scrutinised, but at the personal level too. I haven’t felt this closely assessed since I met my prospective father-in-law for the first time!!”