* Appointment makes Bengtsson third new CEO in 5 years
* William Hill closing hundreds of betting shops in Britain
* New CEO has experience in digital gambling
(Adds details on new CEO, background on industry, management
changes)
By Noor Zainab Hussain
Sept 5 (Reuters) - William Hill promoted its digital
boss Ulrik Bengtsson to the chief executive's role, making the
Swede the British gambling company's third new boss in five
years as it closes hundreds of betting shops and shifts its
focus online.
William Hill said current CEO Philip Bowcock would leave at
the end of September after only three years at the helm. Bowcock
this year announced plans to close 700 British betting shops
after the government clamped down on gaming machines that draw
in many gamblers.
Bengtsson, 47, who brings experience of working with
digital, international and gambling companies, will be the first
foreign CEO of the company,
He joined William Hill in April last year and had been CEO
of Swedish online gaming and betting company Betsson AB
and run its business in Malta, a hub for online
gambling firms.
William Hill, which earns the majority of its money in
Britain, said on Thursday the change at the top was consistent
with a strategy of becoming a "digitally led and internationally
diverse" gambling company.
Bowcock had joined William Hill in November 2015 as CFO from
cinema operator Cineworld with no prior experience in
the gambling industry. His predecessor as chief executive, James
Henderson, left the company in 2016 after he failed to deliver
enough growth in online and international gambling.
William Hill has struggled to fill the shoes of former CEO
Ralph Topping who retired in 2014 after more than 40 years at
the company. Topping had helped to make the company Britain's
largest listed bookmaker by adding online and international
operations to its chain of high street betting shops.
William Hill missed out on a round of consolidation in the
sector and is currently the second largest gambling company on
UK's high street, trailing rival GVC's Ladbrokes,
according to onlinebetting.org.uk https://www.onlinebetting.org.uk/betting-guides/biggest-bookies.html#biggest.
Bengtsson's appointment comes at a time of big change on the
high street after Britain cut the maximum stake allowed on fixed
odds betting terminals from 100 pounds to just 2 pounds after
concerns that the machines fuelled problem gambling.
With its wings clipped at home, William Hill has joined a
group of British betting companies that have been expanding in
the United States after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a
federal ban on sports betting.
William Hill also bought Swedish gambling company Mr Green &
Co in a $308 million deal announced last October as part of its
efforts to expand internationally.
Bengtsson, a supporter of London Premier League soccer club
Chelsea, will receive a base salary of 600,000 pounds
($736,620) annually, in line with Bowcock's salary.
($1 = 0.8145 pounds)
(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by
Sriraj Kalluvila and Bernard Orr)
