Why Caesars’ £2.9bn bet on William Hill looks like a winner

The potential of the US sports betting market is huge and William Hill has built a winning position, writes James Moore

Betting on US sports like the NFL is a huge growth market (Getty)

Staking William Hill’s board in the hopes of it winning you some money in a poker tournament would be a very bad idea.

On the face of it, the £2.9bn takeover Hill’s bosses have agreed with Caesars Entertainment, the US casino operator with which Hill has a joint venture, looks like a big pot to take home.

The 272p a share price represents an 80.7 per cent premium to the “volume-weighted” average of what the UK bookie has been trading at over the past three months.