All Press Releases for May 08, 2008

Presidential election comments wanted, says William Hill

Free 100 pound bet on offer in bookie's US election website discussion



    /24-7PressRelease/ - LONDON, UK, May 08, 2008 - William Hill (LSE:WMH), one of the world's largest online bookmakers, is calling on political punters to join in the US election debate - and is offering a free 100 pound politics bet to the person who submits the best comment to its 2008 US presidential election website.

The betting company set up the site in January 2008 to provide breaking news, party and candidate information and live betting odds on the race for the White House - and now wants to hear the public's opinion on the issues surrounding the presidential contest.

Graham Sharpe, William Hill's media director, said, "We set up this website because we wanted to create an online forum where punters could share their opinions about the election, and swap tips about how they see the race panning out. Punters love betting on politics, and elections don't come bigger than the American presidency.

"The 2008 election is the most gripping presidential race for years, and, thanks to the tight contest between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, it's generating debate in pubs, offices and other meeting places all around the world.

"We make Barack the slight favourite ahead of John McCain - but we'd love to hear if and why you think we've got it wrong."

The website also features US election news from a betting perspective, audio podcasts from YouGov founder and former BBC political commentator Peter Kellner, and regular blog posts from Graham Sharpe himself.

Free bet rules
The free bet will go to the person who, in the opinion of the William Hill judges, makes the best comment on the website - whether serious, funny, insightful or philosophical - by the date of the election itself (4 November). Comments will be moderated and may be edited, and submitting a comment does not guarantee that it will be published on the US election website.

The free bet will take the form of a 100GBP win single that must be placed on the outcome of a political event quoted in William Hill's online Sportsbook. The 100 pounds will be credited to the winning entrant's William Hill online betting account - meaning the winner will need to create an account if they do not already have one.

William Hill PLC was founded in 1934 and has grown to become one of the best-known names in the UK betting industry. It takes bets on a wide-range of sporting and other events through its betting shops, its telephone call centres and over the internet.

It is a market leader both online, where it operates casino, poker and bingo websites, and on the High Street, where it has more than 2,250 betting shops. Its telebetting operation is believed to be the largest in the world and its online Sportsbook serves customers from more than 150 countries, using 11 different currencies and eight different languages.

The company employs more than 16,000 people in the UK and Ireland and was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2002. It is currently a component of the FTSE250 index, with a market capitalisation of around 1.4 billion. In the year ending 1 January 2008 it made a profit of 209 million from revenue of 940 million.

For more information about William Hill, contact:
Matt Bennett
Online Marketing Executive
[email protected]

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Contact Information

Matthew Bennett
William Hill PLC
Leeds
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