ShareBritish gambling giant William Hill is facing heavy criticism for offering food in its outlets, accused of attempting to draw more gamblers through its doors. The test run is only taking place in five shops across the UK but has already drawn the ire of anti-gambling campaigners.
The story made The Guardian, who reported that signs were installed for the “WH Cafe”, along with promotions for meals deals and such.
“The promotion included a special offer for a sausage and egg muffin at £2, less than the equivalent menu option at McDonald’s, while the Big Al’s Chicken Burger is £2.50, again cheaper than a McChicken Sandwich.”
Snacks and free hot drinks have been seen in the past for regular customers, but campaigners felt strongly about this new strategy which they said is clearly a loss leader designed to get people inside and gambling.
Matt Zarb-Cousin, a recovering gambling addict and a former adviser to Jeremy Corbyn, said: “When the cheapest sausage and egg muffin on the high street is in William Hill, you start to wonder whether the food is there as a loss leader, in an attempt to generate new customers.”
Labour MP Carolyn Harris followed up with: “It looks like a cynical plot to keep customers in the bookies,” she said. “Yet another tactic of an industry hell bent on squeezing every pound they can out of customers.”
William Hill countered by saying the change was purely aimed at following through with what customers had asked for.
“We are currently trialling WH Cafes in five of our 1,408 shops in the UK, and although early feedback from our customers is positive, there are no plans for an estate-wide rollout. The five shops are licensed to provide betting services and are registered with the relevant authorities to sell food and non-alcoholic beverages. The WH Cafe concept was born out of customer suggestions, and it is aimed at improving our customer experience and not at increasing the amount of time they spend in our shops.”
Crown Melbourne Dodges a Bullet
Casino operator Crown Resorts will be allowed to retain its Melbourne license following the findings of a Royal Commission. The firm was declared unsuitable to hold a gambling license but will be allowed to continue running it’s largest property under government supervision.For the next two years, Crown Resorts must reform its business practices after being accused of money laundering and misleading state regulators. The report described the company’s actions as "illegal, dishonest, unethical and exploitative"
The Royal Commission also threw some shade at billionaire James Packer who owns 37% of Crown Resorts, after recommending that he be forced to reduce his share to only 5%. It was also suggested that the maximum fine for breaking the terms of the casino license was raised to A$100 million ($75 million), from A$1 million.
This is one of three enquiries that Crown Resorts has faced up to in the last year. An investigation carried out in New South Wales led to the freezing of a license for a A$2.1 billion casino in Sydney, while another is ongoing at Crown Perth in Perth City.
Pokerstars Withdrawal from Netherlands Market to Cost ÂŁ50 Million
Flutter Entertainment has reported that its exit from the Dutch online gambling market could cost the company as much as ÂŁ50 million by the end of 2022. The owner of brands such as Paddy Power, Betfair, PokerStars, and FanDuel, expects to have a Netherlands license approved in time to operate in the region by Q3 of next year.Earlier this month PokerStars lost a case in the Austrian Supreme Court that could have serious consequences for the entire industry.
An unknown player employed the Gottgeisl & Leinsmer law firm to sue the online poker giant for their losses between 2014 and 2019, totalling €28,000, and incredibly won. Successive courts found in favour of the player on the grounds that PokerStars was operating without the correct license, and hence was acting illegally and must repay the full amount.
Nevada Breaks $1 Billion Revenue for Seven Straight Months
Revenue figures for Nevada casinos continue to impress after the state posted its seventh straight $1bn+ report. With European travellers only being welcomed again for a fortnight, it is impressive to see such a recovery post-pandemic.One of the reasons for such a performance is that even though foreigners have found it difficult to travel, there are many Americans who want to holiday at home.
It has been suggested that with the sports betting industry opening up on a state-by-state basis, Nevada might struggle to recover to past performance levels. We can now see that this is not true and that the fact that Sin City is such a unique place will almost certainly see it through.
Macau Suffering Badly
While Las Vegas is having the time of its life post-pandemic, the opposite is true for Asian gambling paradise Macau. The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reported that revenue for October only amounted to $545 million, down from September’s figure of $735 million.This is currently the worst performance that the city has seen in 2021, and a whopping 42% down on the same time last year. A mandatory quarantine in place for visitors up until October 19 has left tourism down to only a trickle.
To add context, Golden Week is a traditional holiday perdio in the area and only 8,159 tourists bothered to make the trip, representing a 95% fall from mid-pandemic a year before. With new government regulations expected to be on the books in 2020 when licenses are up for renewal, it has to be a worrying time for casinos in Macau.
