William Hill Sister Sites

Last Updated on March 1, 2026 by adrian

William Hill (williamhill.com) is a British betting institution founded in 1934 and online since 1998. For UK customers it is operated by WHG (International) Limited under UKGC licence 39225, and is part of Evoke Plc following a £1.95 billion acquisition from Caesars Entertainment completed in July 2022. It is registered with GamStop. Sister brands under the same Evoke umbrella include 888 Casino, Mr Green, 888 Sport, and 888 Poker.

🎰 William Hill Sister Sites

All part of Evoke Plc. 888 Casino, 777 Casino, Mr Green, 888 Sport, and 888 Poker are operated by 888 UK Limited (UKGC 39028). William Hill operates under its own UKGC licence (39225). All registered with GamStop.

  • 888 Casino – Evoke’s flagship online casino brand, active since 1997, with 2,500+ games and the exclusive Section8 in-house studio.
  • 777 Casino – Retro Las Vegas-styled sister brand sharing 888’s backend infrastructure and UKGC licence 39028.
  • Mr Green – Premium Swedish-founded casino brand, recognised for the Green Gaming responsible gambling tool. Active across five regulated European markets.
  • 888 Sport – Evoke’s dedicated online sportsbook, operating under UKGC licence 39028.
  • 888 Poker – One of the largest online poker networks in the world, part of the Evoke Plc group.

📋 William Hill Quick Facts

UK Operator WHG (International) Limited (Evoke Plc)
Registered Address Suite 601/701 Europort, Europort Road, Gibraltar GX11 1AA
UKGC Licence 39225
Founded 1934
Online Since 1998
GamStop Yes
Licences UKGC + Gibraltar Gaming Commissioner + MGA
Retail Shops 1,400+ across the UK
Employees ~12,000 (approx. 8,000 in the UK)
Products Sports betting, casino, poker, bingo
Mobile Yes – app + browser; William Hill Vegas app
Parent Company Evoke Plc (London Stock Exchange listed)

🏢 Evoke Plc Sister Sites – Full Comparison

William Hill and its Evoke Plc siblings share a parent company but operate under different UKGC licence holders. The distinction matters for GamStop – all are enrolled, but via their respective licence entities.

🎰 Brand 🎯 Focus 📜 UK Licence Holder 🔢 UKGC Account 🛡️ GamStop
William Hill Betting, casino, 1,400+ shops WHG (International) Ltd 39225 ✅ Yes
888 Casino Online casino flagship 888 UK Limited 39028 ✅ Yes
Mr Green Premium casino 888 UK Limited 39028 ✅ Yes
888 Sport Sports betting 888 UK Limited 39028 ✅ Yes
888 Poker Online poker 888 UK Limited 39028 ✅ Yes

📖 William Hill’s History – From Bookmaker to Evoke Plc

William Hill has one of the longest and most documented histories of any gambling brand in the UK. The company has changed hands multiple times before landing with Evoke Plc.

📅 Year 📌 Milestone
1934 William Hill founded as a postal and telephone bookmaker in Birmingham
1966 First high street betting shops acquired (Jack Swift’s 18 shops, West End London)
1997 Acquired by Japanese bank Nomura for £700 million from Brent Walker
1998 Launched online – one of the first major UK bookmakers to go digital
2002 Floated on the London Stock Exchange
2013 Paid £424 million to take full control of its online business from Playtech JV
2019 Acquired Mr Green for £242 million
April 2021 Acquired by Caesars Entertainment for £2.9 billion; delisted from LSE
July 2022 European business sold to 888 Holdings (now Evoke Plc) for £1.95 billion
March 2023 UKGC fine – William Hill group companies pay record £19.2 million settlement
March 2025 Rollout of 5,000 new gaming machines across 1,400 retail sites completed
December 2025 Evoke announces it is considering a sale or breakup of William Hill and 888 Casino amid rising debt

🏆 What Makes William Hill Stand Out

William Hill’s defining advantage over every other Evoke Plc brand is its dual presence – a fully operational online casino and sportsbook alongside one of the UK’s largest high street retail networks.

  • 🏪 1,400+ retail betting shops across the UK – one of the largest physical betting shop estates in the country, employing around 8,000 people in the UK alone
  • 🎰 William Hill Vegas – a dedicated casino app offering an extended range of games and promotions, relaunched with a refreshed home page and simpler navigation
  • Sportsbook depth – sports betting has been William Hill’s core product since 1934; Bet Builder and Impact Sub are newer product additions receiving positive player feedback
  • 📱 Sportsbook app – passed 2 million downloads (per Evoke corporate history records)
  • 🎰 5,000 new gaming machines – a £multi-million retail upgrade completed March 2025, replacing all machines across the entire shop estate with third-party best-in-class hardware
  • 🌍 90-year brand heritage – by far the oldest brand in the Evoke Plc portfolio; started in 1934 and has been continuously trading since
  • 🃏 Full product suite – sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo all available under one account

🔒 Licensing and Regulation

William Hill operates under a separate UKGC licence from the rest of the Evoke Plc group. It is WHG (International) Limited – not 888 UK Limited – that holds the licence covering UK customers.

  • 📜 UKGC licence 39225 – held by WHG (International) Limited, Suite 601/701 Europort, Europort Road, Gibraltar GX11 1AA
  • 🇬🇮 Gibraltar Gaming Commissioner – also licensed and regulated by the Government of Gibraltar
  • 🇲🇹 Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) – licensed for international operations
  • 📋 I.B.A.S registered bookmaker – registered with the Independent Betting Adjudication Service for dispute resolution
  • 🛡️ GamStop registered – mandatory under UKGC licensing; UK exclusions automatically enforced
  • 🔐 SSL encryption on all transactions and account data

⚖️ UKGC Regulatory History

William Hill has faced significant regulatory action from the UKGC in recent years, the most serious of which came in March 2023 – a £19.2 million group settlement that was, at the time, the largest in the UKGC’s history.

📅 Date ⚖️ Entity Fined 💷 Amount 📋 Reason
March 2023 WHG (International) Limited £12.5 million AML and social responsibility failings (williamhill.com)
March 2023 Mr Green Limited £3.7 million Same investigation – mrgreen.com conduct pre-Evoke acquisition
March 2023 William Hill Organisation Limited £3.0 million Same investigation – retail betting shop failings
March 2023 Total – William Hill Group £19.2 million Largest UKGC settlement at the time; third-party audit imposed

The UKGC’s chief executive Andrew Rhodes described the failings as “widespread and alarming” and said licence suspension had been seriously considered. The investigation covered conduct that largely predated Evoke’s acquisition. Following the settlement, William Hill Group companies were subject to stringent licence conditions including a mandatory third-party audit of their controls.

❓ Is William Hill on GamStop?

Yes – William Hill is registered with GamStop, the UK’s national self-exclusion scheme, as required under its UKGC licence 39225.

  • 🚫 A GamStop exclusion covers William Hill online, its casino products, and all other UKGC-licensed operators simultaneously – including 888 Casino and Mr Green
  • 🏪 Retail shops are separate – GamStop covers online gambling only; if you want to self-exclude from William Hill’s physical betting shops, you need to contact the retail self-exclusion scheme (MOSES/SENSE) separately
  • ⏱️ Online exclusion periods: 6 months, 1 year, or 5 years – set via gamstop.co.uk
  • 🛡️ William Hill also offers its own in-site responsible gambling tools: deposit limits, loss limits, session reminders, product blocking, and account cooling-off periods

🔮 William Hill and Evoke Plc – What’s Next?

The William Hill brand’s future within the Evoke group is currently uncertain. In December 2025, Evoke announced it was actively considering a sale or breakup of William Hill and 888 Casino, citing rising company debt and the UK government’s increasing tax pressure on gambling operators.

  • 📉 Financial context – Evoke reported consecutive full-year losses of £56 million (FY2023) and £191 million (FY2024), largely linked to William Hill’s online and retail operations. However, H1 2025 saw a return to £5.4 million profit, an improvement from a £29.9 million loss in H1 2024
  • 🏪 Shop closure risk – Evoke has modelled scenarios involving closing up to 200 William Hill shops (roughly 1-in-10) depending on gambling tax outcomes from the government
  • 🎰 Retail upgrade underway – the completion of 5,000 new gaming machine installations in March 2025 signals continued investment despite the strategic review
  • 📊 Online recovering – UK online revenue grew 5% in 2024 under CEO Per Widerström’s refocused strategy, with sports betting products Bet Builder and Impact Sub gaining traction
  • 🔍 Strategic review ongoing – any sale or breakup would require regulatory approval; William Hill’s UK operations remain fully active and UKGC-licensed throughout this process

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Who owns William Hill?

William Hill is owned by Evoke Plc, the company formerly known as 888 Holdings. Evoke acquired the European operations of William Hill from Caesars Entertainment in July 2022 for £1.95 billion. For UK customers, William Hill is operated by WHG (International) Limited, a Gibraltar-registered subsidiary of Evoke Plc. Evoke is listed on the London Stock Exchange. In December 2025, Evoke announced it is considering a sale or breakup of William Hill as part of a broader strategic review.

Is William Hill on GamStop?

Yes. William Hill’s online operations are registered with GamStop under UKGC licence 39225. A self-exclusion via GamStop automatically blocks access to William Hill online alongside all other UKGC-licensed operators. Note that GamStop only covers online gambling – self-exclusion from William Hill’s physical betting shops requires a separate registration through the retail self-exclusion schemes MOSES or SENSE.

What are the best William Hill sister sites?

Within the Evoke Plc group, William Hill’s most prominent sister brands are 888 Casino, Mr Green, 888 Sport, and 888 Poker. Those four brands all operate under 888 UK Limited’s UKGC licence 39028, whereas William Hill operates under its own separate UKGC licence (39225) via WHG (International) Limited. All are owned by the same parent company and all are registered with GamStop.

Is William Hill licensed in the UK?

Yes. William Hill holds UKGC licence 39225 through WHG (International) Limited. It is also licensed by the Gibraltar Gaming Commissioner and the Malta Gaming Authority. The brand has traded continuously in the UK since 1934 and has been licensed online by the UKGC since the Commission’s establishment. William Hill is also a registered I.B.A.S bookmaker, providing an independent dispute resolution route for customers.

Does William Hill have physical betting shops?

Yes – William Hill operates over 1,400 betting shops across the UK, employing approximately 8,000 people in the country. This makes it one of the UK’s largest high street betting shop operators. Evoke completed a major retail upgrade in March 2025, rolling out 5,000 new gaming machines across the entire shop estate following a strategic decision to switch from a proprietary retail platform to best-in-class third-party hardware. Despite ongoing strategic review discussions about potential shop closures, the retail estate remains operational.