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William Hill to Permanently Close 119 Betting Shops in the UK

Published

6 years ago

August 6, 2020

Reading Time: < 1 minute

William Hill PLC has announced that it will not re-open 119 shops due to the Covid-19 impact on the UK retail environment, as the bookmaker swung to an interim profit on a value added tax refund.

The company also said that it has made a “robust” recovery in the opening weeks of the second half because of the resumption of sporting activities and re-opening of shops. As a result, the company has decided to repay GBP24.5 million to the UK government received under the coronavirus job retention scheme.

For the 26 weeks ended July 2, the company recorded pretax profit of GBP141.1 million compared with a loss of GBP63.5 million a year ago. The profit figure includes a GBP201.6 million tax refund, which was partially offset by GBP81.9 million non-cash intangible store impairment charge.

Stripping out exceptional gains and charges, William Hill’s operating profit fell 85% year-on-year to GBP11.8 million, ahead of the company’s expectations.

The H1 2020 revenue declined 32% to GBP554.4 million from GBP811.7 million. The drop was attributed to Covid-19 disruption to sporting events and temporary closure of retail activities, partially offset by favourable sports results and resilient gaming performance.

“Our trading was strong before Covid-19, we controlled costs effectively during lockdown and we have recovered well post-lockdown with good performances in our online businesses throughout the first half,” Ulrik Bengtsson, Chief Executive Officer of William Hill, said.

Bengtsson added that William Hill remains confident in pursuing its growth agenda, taking advantage of its market-leading position in sports betting in the US.

GGPoker

GGPoker adds Action Voice packs featuring Doyle Brunson and other pros

Published

4 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Wladimir P.

ggpoker-adds-action-voice-packs-featuring-doyle-brunson-and-other-pros

New software option replaces standard table announcements across cash games, tournaments and formats including All-In or Fold and Spin & Gold.

GGPoker on July 9, 2026 announced Action Voice, a new software feature that lets players replace standard table announcements with voice packs recorded by poker personalities, including Doyle Brunson.

The initial lineup named by the operator includes ten-time WSOP bracelet winner Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and Kevin Martin, with additional voices “to be confirmed in the near future.”

Action Voice is available now across GGPoker’s product offering, including cash games, tournaments and formats such as All-In or Fold and Spin & Gold. Players can select voice packs in the desktop client via ‘My Page’ and then ‘My Action Voice’.

“Doyle Brunson may not be at the tables in the way that he used to, but his voice still can be,” said Sarne Lightman, Managing Director of GGPoker. “Action Voice is our way of keeping the legends who built this game part of the everyday experience – right alongside the players carrying it forward today, like Daniel and Michael. It’s a unique and fun new element to our software, and we can’t wait to reveal the rest of the lineup soon.”

GGPoker said more Action Voice packs will be announced in the coming weeks as it rolls out the full roster.

The post GGPoker adds Action Voice packs featuring Doyle Brunson and other pros appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Action Voice

The Godfather Of Poker Returns To The Table: Doyle Brunson’s Voice Comes To GGPoker

Published

4 hours ago

July 9, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

the-godfather-of-poker-returns-to-the-table:-doyle-brunson’s-voice-comes-to-ggpoker

GGPoker introduces Action Voice, letting players hear poker icons – including Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and more – call their action at the tables

GGPoker, the World’s Biggest Poker Room, today unveiled Action Voice, a unique feature that gives players the option to replace GGPoker’s standard table announcements with those voiced by some of poker’s most iconic figures. For the first time, players can bet, raise, call, and fold to the voice of ten-time WSOP bracelet winner and back-to-back Main Event champion Doyle Brunson – alongside a growing roster of legends including Daniel Negreanu, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Kevin Martin, and additional names to be confirmed in the near future.

Action Voice is now available to all GGPoker players, who can select their preferred voice pack in the GGPoker software and hear it call their action while playing their favorite GGPoker games, including cash games, tournaments, and exclusive formats such as All-In or Fold and Spin & Gold.

“Doyle Brunson may not be at the tables in the way that he used to, but his voice still can be,” said Sarne Lightman, Managing Director of GGPoker. “Action Voice is our way of keeping the legends who built this game part of the everyday experience – right alongside the players carrying it forward today, like Daniel and Michael. It’s a unique and fun new element to our software, and we can’t wait to reveal the rest of the lineup soon.”

To select a new voice from within the desktop software, click on ‘My Page’, then ‘My Action Voice’. Choose your preferred voice by selecting the avatar, click ‘Apply’ and you are ready to hit the tables!

Additional voices will be revealed in the coming weeks as GGPoker rolls out the full Action Voice roster.

The post The Godfather Of Poker Returns To The Table: Doyle Brunson’s Voice Comes To GGPoker appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

Haaland

International bettors back Haaland’s Norway to beat England in World Cup Quarter Final Clash

Published

11 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Wladimir P.

international-bettors-back-haaland’s-norway-to-beat-england-in-world-cup-quarter-final-clash

Kaizen Gaming shares Betano users’ predictions on teams heading to the World Cup semi-finals

As the World Cup moves into the last eight stage, Kaizen Gaming unveils exclusive proprietary data from its Betano platform, which reveals Argentina, Norway, Spain and France as the most backed teams by users globally to progress into the semi-finals.

Predicting the teams to qualify to the semi-finals (selections from the “To Qualify” market):

Norway backed by 75% of users to qualify over England
Argentina favoured by 80% of users to win over Switzerland
Spain narrowly predicted to come out on top over Belgium with 55% of users’ bets
France has been selected by 67% of users to pass through Morocco

With regards to two of the biggest surprises of the tournament this far, Brazil’s defeat to Norway and Germany’s elimination by Paraguay, it seems that for Betano users the shock wasn’t that big. In fact, 42% of users had seen Paraguay’s qualification coming, and 45% had predicted Norway getting through Brazil to reach the quarterfinals.

*The data shared has been extracted on the morning of July 8, 2026 from across 18 markets, excluding the UK. The international data sources may vary according to betting option availability per market.

The post International bettors back Haaland’s Norway to beat England in World Cup Quarter Final Clash appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.