William Hill, one of the largest British sportsbook operators, is planning to close its online operations on the territory of Israel. As a result of the exit, the operator is expected to lay off over 200 of its local employees, with the Tel Aviv ones currently being approximately 250.
The news was revealed by LeapRate, a news outlet which has received information from Israeli sources that the sportsbook company is to be shutting its local operations. Apart from the employees to be laid off, the offices of the company at the Azrieli Towers is to be left vacant.
The remaining number of key employees of the company who are about 50, are expected to be offered to be relocated to the operator’s head office in the UK. They would also be given the chance to be relocated in any other office in Europe.
William Hill started operating in the country back in 2008, when the William Hill Online joint venture was created as a result of the company’s partnership with Playtech. Then, five years later, in 2013, William Hill bought out the assets of Playtech in the joint venture for a total of £424 million.
An official representative of the company said in an interview that the employees based in Tel Aviv have made an excellent contribution to the William Hill Online’s success. The spokesman also expressed his gratitude for the hard work and devotion of all employees of the brand who had worked in Israel.
According to unnamed sources, the company has started to organise meetings with its employees based in Tel Aviv in order to provide them with further details about the company’s decision. For years, Israel has been an important centre for the iGaming industry, and for a number of other areas, including software development and online marketing. Although the country is one of the online gaming industry hubs, the economic conditions there seem to be getting tougher for foreign companies, especially when taking into account the increasing cost of real estate, low unemployment and the recent strengthening of the local currency. All of these factors combine have made Israel a much more expensive destination for business endeavours.
The spokesman of the company also confirmed that some of William Hill’s staff members would be offered relocation to the London, Gibraltar and Krakow offices of the company, which are currently some of the major hubs for the operator. Up to date, William Hill holds offices in Wood Green and Shoreditch and is expected to establish a new central office hub in London until the end of 2017. The new London office would be aimed at combining the current Shoreditch operations and functions which have been previously located in Tel Aviv. According to the company’s spokesman, this would help the company to work smarter and more efficiently.
- Author
Olivia Cole
