FTSE 250 gaming company William Hill shares were down six per cent in early trading as it announced falling profits in the first half.
The figures
Revenue rose three per cent from £778.5m to £802.6m in the first half of 2018 compared to last year.
While operating profit of its existing operations gained one per cent, adjusted operating profit declined 12 per cent from £128.9m to £113.6m this year.
The dividend was kept the same, at 4.26p per share.
Read more: Bookies brace for shop closures with top stake cut on betting machines
Why it's important
The bookie said the recent government crackdown on fixed odds betting machines had hit profits hard,
William Hill today became the latest betting company to make major strides into the US market as it signed betting agreements with 11 casinos in Mississippi and one casino partner in West Virginia.
It's also currently in talks for a betting deal to cover a further 14 US states. The gambling firm said it would provide sports betting risk management services and its technology to retail and on-premises mobile sports betting to the Mississippi casinos.
William Hill already has betting operations in Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey, as well as a race book in Iowa.
Coincidentally, rival Paddy Power has made a similar move, as it reached a deal with US casino group Boyd Gaming today.
Read more: Paddy Power signs deal with US casino group Boyd
What William Hill said
William Hill has performed well during the first half of 2018 and, following major regulatory decisions in the UK and US, we now have greater clarity over the challenges and opportunities that lie before us.
Fundamental to delivering over the long term will be our sustainability strategy, which marks a significant cultural change for the company. Gambling-related harm is a serious issue and it is important that we face up to this challenge. We have set ourselves the ambition that nobody is harmed by gambling and set out a detailed programme of actions as we start out on this journey.
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