Managing to be successful both online and off is quite a task, but William Hill certainly doesn’t seem to be daunted by the challenge, continuing to be one of the top-grossing casinos in the world, with a steady rise of 15% in net revenues in the 1^st quarter of 2013.

Even after facing a dramatic break-up with the software partner Playtech and paying an exorbitant sum of £424 million to gain back stakes and full control of William Hill Online (WHO), the company is still going strong, showing an 8% growth on operating profits.

The good reputation that William Hill has in the UK and the company’s strong online presence have solidified the company’s position in the global market, despite the joint venture failure with Playtech.

William Hill’s incumbent CEO Ralph Topping commented: It has been a successful start to 2013 in trading terms, moving forward with our strategy, expanding into Australia and taking full control of William Hill Online.

One of the highlights of the company’s financial results is the fact that net revenues for the sportsbook desktop platform and its mobile sports book platform have swelled up by 47% and 145% respectively.

Mobile trend on the rise

The steady growth can also be attributed to William Hill’s mobile platform’s success, showing a 298% increase in net revenues compared to 2012’s Q1.

WHO’s mobile presence is one of the company’s major contributor to [WHO] sportsbook’s continued growth. We have beaten two of our three sportsbook and mobile targets ahead of schedule and are focusing on making mobile more than 40 percent of sportsbook stakes before the end of this year, commented Topping.

Ole! Aussie and Spanish expansion

The British market was not enough for them, and on March 2013, the company finalized the acquisition of Sportingbet’s Australian and Spanish operations at 54.75p per share, regarding which Topping said:

It was pleasing to receive such clear support from shareholders for the William Hill Online acquisition and the rights issue. We also welcomed Sportingbet Australia into the William Hill group in March and, having spent more time on the ground with the Aussie team, I am confident of its ability to take advantage of the opportunities in this key territory.

On a less positive note, William Hill’s land-based revenues declined by 3% compared to last year’s results; nevertheless, the company’s overall performance remains stable and with stronger win margins than in previous years.

Commenting on the company’s financial results, Topping said that they have two strong channels [on and offline], with both responding well to opportunities and challenges.