|
Popular online bookmaker, William Hill has announced its intent to buy UK government owned betting firm Tote, despite current rules regarding competition. The process won't be a simple one, its main competitors in the UK, PaddyPower and Ladbrokes, have already made their plans to take control of the betting firm public and while William Hill is a bigger player on an international stage, current competition tests could put the company at a disadvantage
"To ensure that this is truly an "open market" sale we believe that the Office of Fair Trading needs to revisit the archaic competition tests which have looked at the market in terms of betting shops - the true market is a global one that includes online and betting exchanges," said Ralph Topping, chief executive of William Hill.
"We would be disappointed if the "open market" sale was burdened with any onerous preconditions which might reduce the sale value of the Tote.
"To those who think these archaic competition tests from the turn of the century are appropriate, we suggest they Google the word "betting" and wake up to the global market at their fingertips."
Last week, Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt called the sale of the company imminent, "we have no desire to keep the Tote as part of the public sector." William Hill appears to be prepared to put up quite a fight.
As always we'll keep you posted on the latest developments.
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed