UK bookmaker William Hill’s year-to-date performance has been beaten badly by COVID-19, with revenue down more than one-quarter through the first four months.

In a trading update covering the 17-week period ending April 28, Hills reported overall revenue falling 27%. Hills’ home market led the decline, with UK online operations falling 11% and retail down 35%.

The retail comparison is on a like-for-like basis, excluding the hundreds of shops Hills decided to close following last April’s reduction in fixed-odds betting terminal (FOBT) stakes but including the shops it was forced to close in March due to the pandemic lockdown. On that like-for-like basis, retail gaming revenue slid 47% while the pandemic-related suspension of major sports pushed retail betting turnover down 29%.

UK online revenue didn’t fare that much better, rising 7% in the period through March 10 then falling by one-third. There was “some substitution from sports betting into gaming” but clearly not much, as overall online gaming revenue was up only 6% in the ‘coronavirus-impacted’ period and ‘online international’ gaming enjoyed “strong growth” – partly due to the Mr Green brand launching in Spain – suggesting that UK online gaming was just along for the ride.