For anyone who has been following the sale of William Hill – which began back in 2020 when Caesars Entertainment bid for the company and concluded with 888 buying the UK and European assets back from Caesars this year – we have news.
Mr Green, the only other brand owned by William Hill at the time of the sale, will be closing their sportsbook to UK customers from the 8th of September.
Customers in other parts of the world, including Ireland, will still be able to place bets with the bowler hatted gentleman, but for British based punters only the casino will remain.
It’s the first strategic move that has been made since 888 took the reigns, although it is understood that Hills had planned to do this eventually anyway.
We look into the decision and what it means for punters in more detail below.
How Will Mr Green Customers be Affected?
First things first, there is absolutely no need for anybody to worry.
Mr Green the brand is not going anywhere, the company is in good health, and nobody’s money is at risk.
The company will be taking no further bets from September the 6th and will close proper on the 8th.
The good news for existing customers is that they will honour any ante post wagers that have already been placed, and withdrawals can still be made as normal since it is only the sportsbook that is being taken down.
Casino players shouldn’t notice any difference at all, so the worst case scenario is that some people will have to find a new sportsbook.
But most people have a portfolio of betting sites anyway, and even if Mr Green was your go to site, there are plenty of sign up offers around to take advantage of while looking for a new betting home.
Why is Mr Green’s Sportsbook Closing?
If you look at this from 888’s point of view, they bought William Hill because they want to gain a stronger hold in the UK market, which is not historically where they have been most prominent.
They already have their own 888 brands, including 888 Sport, and William Hill is one of the biggest betting brands in the country, so it makes little sense for them to run the comparatively tiny Mr Green sportsbook alongside.
888’s CEO, Itai Pazner, had previously said they would be reducing the number of assets with ‘lower potential’, and Mr Green Sportsbook is clearly one of them.
So the closure is a cost saving exercise on a number of fronts, but the timing in relation to the new Remote Customer Interaction rules is pertinent.
Effective from the 12th of September, the new rules state that operators must:
- monitor a specific range of indicators as a minimum, to identify gambling harm
- flag indicators of harm and take action in a timely manner
- implement automated processes for strong indicators of harm
- prevent marketing and the take-up of new bonuses for at risk customers
- evaluate their interactions and ensure they interact with consumers at least at the level of problem gambling for the relevant activity
- evidence their customer interaction evaluation to the Gambling Commission during routine casework
- comply with these requirements at all times, this includes ensuring the compliance of third-party providers
This basically means online bookies will have to put time, money, and effort into updating their processes in order to meet the new guidelines, and it’s just not worth the outlay for Mr Green.
Launching as a casino first, in 2008, Mr Green entered the UK market in 2015 with great fanfare, and even though the sportsbook launched in 2016, they have always been best known as a place to game rather than a place to bet.
For 888 therefore, it’s easier and cheaper to let Mr Green run in the background doing what it does best, while they deal with the bigger tasks of taking over a century old brand with millions of customers, plus a huge fleet of high street shops… which they have no experience of running.
Good luck chaps and chapesses!