William Hill CEO ousted as U.K. bookmaker struggles online

[The Buzz]

CEO James Henderson received his pink slip after almost two years in the role and more than 30 years with the U.K. bookmaker.

The board made the decision to replace Henderson and has engaged an international search firm to find his successor, Chairman Gareth Davis said by phone. Henderson will depart immediately, ending a more than 30-year career at the bookmaker.

The decision mainly reflects the company’s recent underperformance in online betting, Davis said. William Hill launched a new web platform and mobile application last year, though ran into difficulties that led to a slowdown in betting growth. The company cut profit guidance in March after new rules made it easier for online gamblers to take a breather from their wagers.

“Online is such a huge bellwether and as market leader we have high expectations,” Davis said. “We have stalled abruptly and lost share significantly in the last year or so."

Here's a link to the Bloomberg article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...ruggles-online

[PromoteCasino]

Doesn't surprise me of all the mainstream online bookies, Hill's have the worst site.

[RacingJim]

Poor William Hill. Awww diddums.

[agsgroup]

Maybe they can overhaul their aff management dept while they are there..

No, actually doesn't matter

[justbookies]

Personally could never get a bet on with them, so gave up trying a long ago. Their customer service was abysmal. Chalk and cheese compared to Bet365 or even Betfred. Always amazed me their figures were so good, so assumed I just saw the worst of them and other people got a better experience. The problems these companies face can so easily be solved - accept a bet and give good customer service. One bad experience and a player will find somewhere that is better, the reason Bet365 wipes the floor with the others (and still they have room for improvement). It's like they have forgotten that their client base are return customers and they have a choice. Still think the people at top of Hills and Ladbrokes don't get the internet and that's why they fall over themselves to sub-contract everything, doing bad deals with sharks like playtech.

[RacingJim]

Still think the people at top of Hills and Ladbrokes don't get the internet and that's why they fall over themselves to sub-contract everything, doing bad deals with sharks like playtech.

Yep this.

They were both slow to react to the online opportunity in the first place and seem to have been playing catch up ever since.

Both their online products lag behind 365/Betfred and others who saw the opportunity more quickly and got their sites and online customer service up to scratch very quickly.

The way WH and Lads have outsourced to poor organisations has put a further dent into their online progress. Definitely seems like they have some dinosaurs at the top of their organisation who just don't understand the new landscape and even now in 2016 maybe some of those people are still the ultimate decisions makers.

[justbookies]

The way WH and Lads have outsourced to poor organisations has put a further dent into their online progress . . . . dinosaurs at the top of their organisation who just don't understand the new landscape

Absolutely. I guess you are referring also to the affiliate departments. It is a rare and incredible situation that there are so many major affiliates that refuse point blank to promote WH and / or Lads. This has come about by heavy-handed treatment of affiliates (and that is a euphemism) by outsourced affiliate departments and unsympathetic migrations to them (another euphemism). Personally I have been lucky with my affiliate managers at these two firms, but mainly because I kick off if I am landed with a muppet.

The 'dinosaurs at the top' you refer to must have no idea about the vital positive influence a good affiliate program can have on the brand goodwill and prosperity of an operator. Bet365 know it and have, in a sense, cornered a market and grown their busineess on the back of affiliate goodwill. The boards of William Hill and Ladbrokes are clueless to this rich gold mine and ignorant of how the outsourced affiliate programs have alienated so many very influential webmasters.

[ocreditor]

Well... any dinosaur must be extinct at some point

[betweenrows]

Well... any dinosaur must be extinct at some point

Hahahaha! Well said!