William Hill Blames Profit Drop on Gambling Taxes

The bookmaker William Hill announced a drop in operating profits of 22% for 2015 and has blamed the drop on gambling taxes imposed on its UK businesses.

The company’s operating profits were down to £291.4 million last year compared to £372.2 million in 2014. It said that additional gambling taxes of £87 million resulted in the slump. The bookmaker has also announced a share buyback of £200 million over the next year. The dividend was increased by 2.5% despite the fall in profits and it also committed to paying its UK employees the national living wage of £7.20 an hour from 1st April.

Last October William Hill warned that its annual profits would be near the bottom of forecasts after poor sports results affected retail businesses in the UK, US and Australia. Revenues were down by just 1% in 2015 as there was no major football tournament during the year.