William Hill fined £19.2m by UK gambling regulator for ‘widespread’ failures
British gambling company William Hill has been hit by a record £19.2m fine by the UK gambling regulator.
Three gambling businesses owned by the company will pay the sum for “widespread and alarming” social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures, the Gambling Commission said.
The entities who will pay the fines will be WHG (International) Limited, which runs williamhill.com and will pay £12.5m; Mr Green Limited, which runs mrgreen.com, which will pay £3.7m; and William Hill Organisation Limited, which operates 1,344 gambling premises across Britain and will pay £3m.
Latest figures show parent company 888 reported £1.85bn in revenue for the year up to the end of December 2022, while company profits for the year will be published in April.
It’s not the first time the company has faced fines. In 2018 a £6.2m fine was issued by the regulator for similar issues: systemic social responsibility and money laundering failures.
Failures identified by the regulator in the latest fine included allowing a customer to open a new account and spend £23,000 in 20 minutes, all without any checks.
Another social responsibility failure identified was failing to conduct any checks and allowing a different customer to open an account and spend £18,000 in 24 hours.
A third customer was able to spend £32,500 over two days, also without any checks.
Due to “ineffective controls” 331 customers were able to gamble with WHG (International) Limited despite having self-excluded themselves with Mr Green.
Anti-money laundering failures allowed customers to deposit large sums without appropriate checks. Sums deposited were as high as £70,134, which one customer spent and lost in a month.
Another lost £38,000 in five weeks while a third lost £36,000 in four days.
A licence suspension was considered, the Gambling Commission chief executive said.
“When we launched this investigation the failings we uncovered were so widespread and alarming serious consideration was given to licence suspension,” Andrew Rhodes said.
“However, because the operator immediately recognised their failings and worked with us to swiftly implement improvements, we instead opted for the largest enforcement payment in our history.”
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Chief executive of the Gambling Commission Andrew Rhodes on William Hill’s £19.2m fine.
A spokesperson for William Hill parent company 888 said: “The settlement relates to the period when William Hill was under the previous ownership and management.
“After William Hill was acquired, the company quickly addressed the identified issues with the implementation of a rigorous action plan.”
The company was purchased by 888 from Caesar’s Entertainment in July 2022.
“The entire group shares the [Gambling Commission’s] commitment to improve compliance standards across the industry and we will continue to work collaboratively with the regulator and other stakeholders to achieve this,” the spokesperson added.
Elon Musk could be on track for a $1trn (£761bn) pay package – if Tesla meets a series of extremely ambitious targets over the next 10 years.
The world’s richest man has the potential to become a trillionaire after the controversial plans were approved by 75% of the company’s shareholders.
It would be the largest corporate pay package in history.
However, it won’t be easy. As part of the agreement, Musk will need to deliver 20 million Tesla vehicles over the next decade – more than double the number churned out over the past 12 years.
He will be tasked with dramatically increasing the company’s valuation and operating profits.
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Musk closer to trillionaire status
Another requirement is for Tesla to roll out one million AI-powered robots – despite the fact it hasn’t released a single one so far.
Musk will also need to come up with a succession plan on who will replace him as the chief executive of Tesla.
As each step is successfully completed, he will receive more company shares and his ownership stake will rise – potentially from 13% now to almost 29%.
And even if Musk falls short of some of these targets, he could end up earning a lot of money.
Figures from Forbes magazine suggest the 54-year-old already has a net worth of $493bn (£375bn) – and while that means he has more money than anyone else on the planet, he isn’t the richest person in history… yet.
That title belongs to John D Rockefeller, the railroad titan who had a wealth of $630bn (£480bn) back in 1913 – when adjusted for inflation.
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The X Effect
Why?
Now is the moment Tesla wants to innovate, develop into robotics, self-driving and embrace the growth of artificial intelligence (AI).
It’s seeking a visionary leader to spearhead this move. And a lot of Tesla’s market value is tied up in this ambition.
Tesla’s board of directors, who oversee the management of the business, are adamant that only Musk can make the lofty ambitions a reality.
Some believe there’s no one else like Musk.
More shares in the company are “critical to keep Musk at the helm to lead Tesla through the most critical time in the company’s history”, said financial services firm Wedbush.
“We believe this was the smart move by the board to lay out these incentives/pay package at this key time as the biggest asset for Tesla is Musk … and with the AI revolution, this is a crucial time for Tesla ahead with autonomous and robotics front and centre.”
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Opposition
Not everyone is in favour of the pay package.
Major investor advice firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) warned the 10-year pay agreement reduces the board’s ability “to meaningfully adjust future pay levels in the event of unforeseen events or changes in either the performance or strategic focus of the company over the next decade”.
In a note, ISS said: “The high value of each tranche could also potentially undermine Musk’s desire to achieve all goals and create significant value for shareholders”, and that the goals “lack precision”.
Musk has described ISS and another major adviser, Glass Lewis, as “corporate terrorists”.
There was speculation he would walk away from the business if the package was not agreed on.
ITV has revealed talks with Sky, the owner of Sky News, over the possible sale of its media and entertainment (M&E) division in a deal worth £1.6bn.
Sky News understands the approach centres on the potential creation of a UK-focused streaming giant.
The division takes in ITV’s current broadcast operations and channels, which are largely dependent on advertising revenue.
The talks do not include the company’s studios arm, which makes shows such as I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
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“There can be no certainty as to the terms upon which any potential sale may be agreed or whether any transaction will take place”, a statement by ITV to the London Stock Exchange said.
“A further announcement will be made in due course if appropriate”, it concluded.
ITV shares jumped by 15% in early trading in response to the statement.
The potential deal involves ITV’s channels but not the company’s production arm. Pic: PA
Sky, which is wholly owned by the US media and entertainment firm Comcast, declined to comment.
ITV released its statement after news of the discussions were first revealed by Bloomberg News.
Just hours earlier, the company’s latest financial results showed it was moving to save millions of pounds due to an advertising slowdown.
ITV reported delays to some programmes over the coming months to save costs as a result.
Sky is owned by the US company Comcast
It predicted a 9% decline in ad revenues across 2025, with the most recent trends being blamed on advertisers pulling back on spending in anticipation of the chancellor’s budget later this month.
It is understood that a possible deal between Sky and ITV would seek to create a larger, more attractive proposition for advertisers in the UK streaming sphere through a focus on UK audiences.
ITV has long been the subject of takeover speculation.
The latest came from the Reuters news agency earlier this year when it reported early-stage talks with Abu Dhabi-backed group RedBird IMI about a possible merger of their respective production businesses.
French media group Banijay was also reported to have held discussions about a possible offer for ITV’s studio business or a full takeover.
Elon Musk could be on track for a $1trn (£761bn) pay package – if Tesla meets a series of extremely ambitious targets over the next 10 years.
The world’s richest man has the potential to become a trillionaire after the controversial plans were approved by shareholders.
However, it won’t be easy. As part of the agreement, Musk will need to deliver 20 million Tesla vehicles over the next decade – more than double the number churned out over the past 12 years.
He will be tasked with dramatically increasing the company’s valuation and operating profits.
Another requirement is for Tesla to roll out one million AI-powered robots – despite the fact it hasn’t released a single one so far.
Musk will also need to come up with a succession plan on who will replace him as the chief executive of Tesla.
As each step is successfully completed, he will receive more company shares and his ownership stake will rise – potentially from 13% now to almost 29%.
And even if Musk falls short of some of these targets, he could end up earning a lot of money.
Figures from Forbes magazine suggest the 54-year-old already has a net worth of $493bn (£375bn) – and while that means he has more money than anyone else on the planet, he isn’t the richest person in history… yet.
That title belongs to John D. Rockefeller, the railroad titan who had wealth of $630bn (£480bn) back in 1913 – when adjusted for inflation.
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Could Elon Musk become the world’s first trillionaire?
Why?
Now is the moment Tesla wants to innovate, develop into robotics, self-driving and embrace the growth of artificial intelligence (AI).
It’s seeking a visionary leader to spearhead this move. And a lot of Tesla’s market value is tied up in this ambition.
Tesla’s board of directors, who oversee the management of the business, are adamant that only Musk can make the lofty ambitions a reality.
Some believe there’s no one else like Musk.
More shares in the company are “critical to keep Musk at the helm to lead Tesla through the most critical time in the company’s history”, said financial services firm Wedbush.
“We believe this was the smart move by the board to lay out these incentives/pay package at this key time as the biggest asset for Tesla is Musk … and with the AI revolution, this is a crucial time for Tesla ahead with autonomous and robotics front and centre.”
“Getting Musk’s pay package approved will be a big step towards advancing Tesla’s future goals,” Wedbush analysts wrote.
Opposition
Not everyone is in favour of the pay package.
Major investor advice firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) warned the 10-year pay agreement reduces the board’s ability “to meaningfully adjust future pay levels in the event of unforeseen events or changes in either the performance or strategic focus of the company over the next decade”.
In a note, ISS said: “The high value of each tranche could also potentially undermine Musk’s desire to achieve all goals and create significant value for shareholders”, and that the goals “lack precision”.
Mr Musk has described ISS and another major adviser, Glass Lewis, as “corporate terrorists”.
There was speculation he would walk away from the business if the package was not agreed on.
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