UK bookmaker William Hill insists all is well despite losing nearly £722m in 2018 following regulatory changes to retail gaming operations.

On Friday, Hills released its 2018 financial report card, which showed revenue rising 2% to £1.62b but the company booked a pre-tax net loss of £721.9m versus a £146.5m profit in 2017. The company blamed the shortfall on an £882.2m non-cash writedown following the UK government’s decision to slash the maximum stakes on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBT) from £100 to just £2.

Absent that writedown, plus £31.2m in additional one-off charges, Hills said its 2018 adjusted operating profit would have fallen 15% year-on-year to £233.6m, resulting in a pre-tax profit of £200.2m (-16%). Investors largely shrugged at Friday’s red ink, as Hills’ shares slipped a mere 1.3% at the close of the day’s trading.

Retail revenue was down 2% year-on-year to £895.2m, as sportsbook handle fell 5%, which pushed retail betting revenue down 4% to just under £399m. In-store machine gaming revenue was essentially flat at £496.3m.