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William Hill Profits Drop by 91% Due to Covid-19 Crisis
William Hill has reported that its annual profits dropped by 91% after the pandemic forced the closure of its betting shops and saw live sports events cancelled. The group saw underlying pre-tax profits slump to £9.1m in 2020 from £96.5m in 2019.
Its betting shops were hit hard by repeated lockdowns and restrictions, with the retail arm slumping to a £29.5m loss as like-for-like revenues plunged 30%. William Hill’s online business delivered a 3% rise in earnings to £121.9m, but this was not enough to offset the retail woes.
Ulrik Bengtsson, CEO of William Hill, said: “In what was an extraordinary year I am immensely proud of how the group has responded and the resilience we have seen in our performance.
“We prioritised the protection and safety of both our colleagues and our customers, and our employees went above and beyond for which I thank them.
“In 2020 we put our strategic plans firmly into action, diversifying our geographical footprint, expanding our team’s capabilities and rebuilding our technology.
“We are embedding proprietary components across the platform architecture and are delivering a constant flow of new features including faster product experience, improved navigation and greater protection to our customers around the world.
“The performance in the second half is clear testimony that our strategy is bearing fruit. In the UK, the competitive position of our online offerings for both gaming and sports has been materially strengthened, and our omni-channel product is delivering encouraging early results.
“Retail has undergone regional disruption although where stores did re-open, they quickly traded towards pre-Covid levels.
“We are delighted with our international online performance, where our investment in our product and technology is producing clear benefits, particularly in light of the regulatory headwinds in Germany and temporary restrictions elsewhere.
“We will continue to benefit from our agile marketing engine, and the recent agreement to acquire Alfabet S.A.S. in Colombia and our licence in Argentina both offer further promising growth opportunities in Latin America.”
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Esports and live events operator says it stayed profitable in 2025 and plans 15 arena events across 13 cities in 2026.
BLAST has opened a New York City headquarters in Brooklyn as the company reported record growth and profitability in 2025, including more than $133 million in revenue and over 40% year-over-year growth.
The new U.S. headquarters is located at 45 Main Street in Brooklyn within a shared 55,000-square-foot office space. BLAST said the hub will support partnerships, live events and commercial growth across North America as it expands its U.S. operations.
The North American push is being led by Chief Business Officer Leo Matlock, who has relocated to New York, alongside Steve Rossi, who joined earlier this year as SVP of Brand Partnerships. BLAST said its U.S. team has grown to eight full-time employees.
BLAST said it has staged seven tier-one esports events in North America over the past 16 months, across Austin, Fort Worth, Boston, Raleigh, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. The company cited “more than $102 million” in economic impact from the 2025 BLAST.tv Austin Major alone, including more than $9 million in hotel expenditures. It also recently announced the Rocket League World Championship will return to Fort Worth in September 2026.
In 2025, BLAST said its broadcasts delivered more than 2 billion live views globally and 300 million hours watched, spanning live events in 22 cities worldwide. The company also said it distributes content via 29 broadcast partners, including SuperSport, France TV and RTBF, reaching audiences in more than 150 territories and 30+ languages.
“Competitive entertainment has become one of the fastest-growing sectors in global media because it combines community, technology and live experiences in entirely new ways,” said Robbie Douek, CEO of BLAST. “The next generation of fans want entertainment that feels participatory, social and global by default. That shift is creating enormous opportunities for brands, publishers, creators and host cities, and we believe BLAST is uniquely positioned to help lead that evolution after a landmark year in 2025.” BLAST said it plans to host 15 arena events across 13 cities and three continents in 2026.
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BLAST, the Denmark-founded competitive entertainment and esports events company, reported record growth and continued profitability in 2025 and said it has opened a New York headquarters as it expands across North America.
The company said it delivered more than 40% year-over-year growth and generated more than $133 million in revenue in 2025, while remaining profitable and continuing to invest in global expansion. BLAST said its U.S. headquarters at 45 Main Street in Brooklyn sits within a shared 55,000-square-foot office space and will serve as its central base for partnerships, live events and commercial growth across North America.
The expansion is being led by Chief Business Officer Leo Matlock, who has relocated to New York, and Steve Rossi, who joined earlier this year as SVP of Brand Partnerships. BLAST said its U.S. team has grown to eight full-time employees.
BLAST pointed to recent North American activity, saying it has hosted seven tier-one esports events across Austin, Fort Worth, Boston, Raleigh, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City over the past 16 months. The company said these events have generated economic impact for host destinations, including more than $102 million from the 2025 BLAST.tv Austin Major alone, including more than $9 million in hotel expenditures. BLAST also said the Rocket League World Championship will return to Fort Worth in September 2026.
On content reach, BLAST said its 2025 broadcasts delivered more than 2 billion live views globally and 300 million hours watched across live events in 22 cities, distributed through 29 broadcast partners across online platforms and linear broadcasters. “We’re seeing tremendous momentum globally and all across North America, not just in esports fandom, but in how brands, game publishers, cities and entertainment companies are thinking about gaming culture, engaging competitions and digital-first audiences,” said Leo Matlock, Chief Business Officer at BLAST. The company said it plans to host 15 arena events across 13 cities and three continents in 2026.
The post BLAST reports 40% revenue growth in 2025, opens New York headquarters appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Flashscore says 1.99 million UK users followed the World Cup group stage on its app and website between 11 June and 28 June, generating 264.1 million views ahead of England’s Round of 32 match against DR Congo in Atlanta on 1 July.
In the UK, England was the most-tracked team with 872,900 profile opens, followed by Scotland with 394,200, according to the company’s dataset. Flashscore said England fixtures took the top three spots for UK user engagement, led by the group-stage match against Croatia with 631,684 users and 2.9 million views. The other two most-viewed England games were against Ghana (2.21 million views) and Panama (2.05 million views).
Flashscore also published global figures for the group stage, reporting 7.16 billion views from 62.26 million unique users. Portugal was the most-followed nation worldwide on Flashscore with 11.2 million team profile opens, ahead of Brazil (9.1 million), France (8.7 million), Spain (7.8 million) and Argentina (7.7 million). England ranked eighth globally with 6.5 million profile opens.
The company highlighted Cape Verde as one of the tournament’s “surprise stories”, placing sixth globally by team views and fourth among UK users. Flashscore also released a “Team of the Group Stage” selected using its new “Flashscore Rating”, which it said analyses more than 70 on-ball and off-ball metrics. Erling Haaland was rated 9.0, with Lionel Messi (8.9) and Kylian Mbappe (8.6) also included in the attacking trio, while Marc Guehi (8.4) was the only England player selected.
The post Flashscore: 1.99m UK users track World Cup group stage ahead of England v DR Congo appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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