William Hill CEO pleased with sports-betting start in US

The CEO of William Hill US, Joe Asher, has every reason to be happy after analysing the early sports betting numbers across New Jersey.

American sports wagering only recently became legal and only now are we getting a look at some of the revenues associated with the industry in the United States.

According to a Financial Post article, New Jersey pulled in $16M in bets in the first two weeks of legalised sports betting.

Importantly, $16M of sports bets doesn’t mean $16M of profit. There are plenty of winning bets that get paid out of that revenue total. However, $16M in bets probably means about $2.3M left over after winning bets are paid.

For instance, there were reports earlier this month that over a period of time, casinos in Delaware took in $7M in bets. After winners were paid, there was reportedly $1M left over. Using the same ratio, $16M in bets likely means about $2.3M that can be used to pay the bills.

The bets have been placed at a time when American sports is actually in a bit of a lull. There is really little going on in June and July in the United States and Canada with the NBA, the NHL, and the NFL all idle.

The World Cup has likely helped immensely. Other than that, there is tennis going on but the big tournaments are played outside of America at this time of year. Other than that, there is just Major League Baseball but games in June and July are hardly key games as the regular baseball season extends into the early fall.

Asher, the William Hill US CEO, seemed pleased with the $16M in bets despite the fact that the period of time is a lull in sports.

“While it’s still early, we’re obviously off to a great start,” CEO Joe Asher said.

“We always knew there was a big appetite for legal sports betting during the years of litigation, and now it is being proven.”