nk1999
23 Jan 2018
Share Centre view From Citywire:"William Hill hit by government crackdown fearsShares in William Hill (WMH) tumbled yesterday after The Sunday Times reported the government was set to slash maximum stakes on controversial fixed odds betting terminals.The shares closed 11.6% lower at 297.2p on the report, which claimed the government was set to cut the current £100 limit to just £2.But The Share Centre stuck with its ‘buy’ rating on the news. ‘We continue to recommend William Hill as a ‘buy’ for investors due to the potential for further growth in mobile wagers, expansion into overseas markets and the prospect of further efficiencies within the business,’ said analyst Graham Spooner.‘Obviously the potential for further regulatory changes, both in the UK and Australia, along with increased taxes remain concerns so we regard the stock as higher risk.’"
Punilux
23 Jan 2018
Re: Sunday Times... It has been reported in Guardian that two major bookies (Assume LadCor and WMH) are considering judicial review, whilst third biggest does not have enough money, but might join in combined action. If 3rd biggest is BetFred, who bought Tote estate with at least one eye on FOBT locations and will soon lose Tote monopoly, then this might be a symbolic "For Sale" sign going up. The significance of this is threefold. Fred Done, allegedly, liked a good donation to the Tory party. He was announced as "Winner" of Gidiot's Tote sale, despite the fact it was donated to the state in perpetuity to benefit racing - If it just ceases to exist in any form then the government, who originally agreed to be guardians of its existence, are going to be in a strange place legally. Thirdly, the disappearance of a big bookies chain from the High Street will disadvantage punters as a whole, but it is hard to see what the competition authorities can do about it. If WMH get £200M for their Aus assets, this will be a clear demonstration that they will not stick around if they feel that they are being legislated against unfairly. WMH is the first chain to start streaming live greyhound racing so you can bet on it without going near a retail establishment but still have some of the advantages. In five years time could they halve their retail estate if their attempt to relocate customers online is successful, and there is no churn?To me, the only game in town is the widespread legalisation of gambling in the majority of American states. Trump needs something to compensate each state if his tax plans go ahead, and legalised betting looks to be a low hanging fruit if the moral argument is that it is taking money away from gangsters and giving it to schools.
numberbiter
22 Jan 2018
Re: Sunday Times... You cannot expect MP's (even those serving a Newmarket constituency) to understand gambling and the mentality of punters.If the MP for Newmarket reduced FOBT's to £2 per go, then horse racing will lose 40% of its revenue. The reality is that there is far too much racing; what with foreign and virtual reality racing, a race goes off every five minutes. Nobody is interested. Walk into any betting shop and you will see approx three people playing the FOBT's and nobody betting on the horses or dogs. The truth is that FOBT's subsidise horse racing.If MP's did any research they would know that William Hill et al don't want punters betting on the horses and football in betting shops; they offer significantly better odds if you bet on-line. Reducing the stake to £2 will obviously also reduce the amount that can be won on a winning line; this will not be attractive to FOBT players and they will take up other forms of gambling, Thousands of betting shops will close and thousands of staff earning the minimum wage will be on benefits. Add the reduced betting revenue to the addional cost of benefits and the government will lose billions of pounds.The trouble is that they are stupid enough, so a £2 limit could well happen.Obviously, something has to be done about problem gambling; therefore a fair compromise would be a £20 limit, enough to keep the FOBT's players still playing, yet reducing their losses by 80%But, as I said, when did this government make any rational decisions?
Punilux
22 Jan 2018
Re: Sunday Times... Report in Racing Post that stockbroker Davy consider that judicial review possible if £2 max goes ahead as consultation period not yet completed. I suppose that bookies will have 23 hours to find some evidence that by any stretch of the imagination could be considered significant. Is it possible that the max stake could remain at £100 for another year whilst the wheels of justice grind on? Matt Hancock's Wiki entry does not paint him as being the brightest, or most discreet, MP ever.
Punilux
22 Jan 2018
Re: Sunday Times... Possible, but unlikely. The news story is as much about Hancock apparently making a decision before all the evidence has possibly been submitted and his new plan to divert FOBT money to betting on horses. Perhaps he has got a hat from which to produce a rabbit, but finding £1bn for The Treasury and up to £100m for his constituency (which includes Newmarket) is going to be problematic. On the other hand it could be that Hancock was mates with Adolph , and they've just found another volume of the latter's diaries.
schwee
22 Jan 2018
Re: Sunday Times... Fake news for someone's personal gain?
Punilux
22 Jan 2018
Sunday Times... ...said that £2 max. stake for FOBT had been decided, even though submissions do not finish until tomorrow. Prior to that, most recent rumour was £10 per play and a decrease in the numbers of plays per minute. ST may well be right as they are going to look really stupid basing their story on a "friend" if they are wrong. On other hand, The Times story about the cost to NHS of FOBTs was about 100,000% out.
Punilux
15 Jan 2018
Prov. Results Is this a profits warning in disguise? Aus has deteriorated from last , awful, notification so we could be looking at a massive write off. If this has also trashed Bet365 figures then I suppose that there might be merger speculation. Everything else looks OK , but the devil will be in the detail. Everyone knew about favourable results from previous advises to market from other gambling companies.
valeite
10 Jan 2018
BARCLAYS= WEIGHT price target £3.30
valeite
05 Jan 2018
canaccord raises price target new target £3.5 and it's a buy
The Revenge of Meredith Hunter
04 Jan 2018
Share of the Year tip in The Times The Times mention the consolidation going on in the industry and potentially a fairly benign gambling review with regard to FOBT.The one thing the pundit does not mention is the impending World Cup. Thst should boost this year's profits.
Punilux
23 Nov 2017
CrownBet Rumour Will need a lot of clarification. WMH top Aus, Tom Waterhouse, was not exactly overjoyed when CrownBet joined several bookies campaigning to ban credit betting in an attempt to boost their companies' reputations with regulators. Even so, one possible benefit would be a combined lottery.
pearlsasinger
07 Nov 2017
Upgrade BOA Merril Lynch upgrades WMH to BUY-targeting 330p.Thus explaining recent recovery in SP.(holder)
pearlsasinger
18 Sep 2017
Re: Goldman: conviction buy APOLOGIES--Should be on Vodaphone .page.Should have gone to Specsavers
pearlsasinger
18 Sep 2017
Goldman: conviction buy Joined in on Friday.Goldman Sachs announce VODas a 'conviction buy' today. (target price 285)Word spreads fast!
