William Hill Online has been crowned operator of the year at the 2011 eGaming Review operator awards – beating shortlisted nominees including Bet365, Betfair and 888 to win the coveted trophy.

Held at the Honourable Artillery Club (HAC) in London, the annual egaming operator awards was bigger than ever this year with more than 700 online gaming professionals joining host and comedian Rufus Hound to celebrate the industry’s achievements in last 12 months.

According to eGR’s independent panel of judges, William Hill Online deservedly took home the most prestigious award of the evening, with the panel describing the operator as "the turnaround story of 2011".

"William Hill Online has transformed its brand into a dynamic fresh faced online gaming brand and their momentum shows no sign of slowing down," they said.

Henry Birch, CEO of William Hill Online said "The eGR award for operator of the year recognises the huge strides we’ve made over the last 12 months. I want to thank everyone at William Hill Online for all their hard work over the year – it has been fantastic!"

William Hill Online 2011

Following an outstanding performance in 2010, William Hill Online has continued to deliver excellent results this year.

In 2011, William Hill added Italian, Irish and Canadian sites to their international portfolio. The new additions now mean Hills offer 26 different language/territory sites which are available to over 175 different countries across the globe.

In Spain, William Hill Online have expanded their product range and through clever marketing techniques they’ve managed to become one of the leading players in the very competitive sector.

Another new site which William Hill added to its product range is their new financial betting site Day Trader.

The Mobile betting division benefitted from a series of innovations, including an exclusive relationship as the betting partner for the Racing Post app (William Hill took its millionth bet on the App in June), Shake-A-Bet, Mobile Casino and their new mobile sports betting site.

In-play amounts staked grew 95% year-on-year fuelled by continuous product expansion. Recent examples include being the only bookmaker to offer point-by-point betting on every Wimbledon match and the launch of an expanded in-play basketball products.

William Hill Online’s extensive pre-match and in-play football offering means the bookie offer around 500,000 betting opportunities every week on the widest variety of markets in the industry.

To support their online products – William Hill signed exclusive betting arrangements with ESPN, SPL, Scottish Football, the Sun’s Dream Team, the Investec Derby, and Super League Rugby.

Gaming net revenue grew 15% in the first half of 2011 period including Casino net revenue grew 14%, benefitting from further enhancements in the flash-based product range. Underlying gaming net revenue grew 29%. Bingo and Poker also grew, up 25% and 11%, respectively.

Their new revamped Bingo site embarked on a massive promotional campaign in October when they gave away 31 cars in 31 days to prize draw winners.

Poker is continuing to run some of the best promotions on the poker planet, while William Hill Vegas, Skills and Live Casino have also enjoyed a strong 2011. Vegas was spurred on by new games including exclusive marvel comic games and the Madness (music band) games.

Photo Caption: William Hill CEO Henry Birch, second from the right, receiving the trophy for operator of the year at the 2011 eGaming Review operator awards at the Honourable Artillery Club (HAC) in London, 30th November 2011.

32Red Plc (32Red), the award-winning online gaming operator, announces that the High Court of Justice of England & Wales (the Court) has today delivered its Judgment in the Company’s trade mark dispute against William Hill, the owners of 32Vegas online casino.

32Red is pleased to report that the Court ruled in favour of 32Red, holding that the use of 32 Vegas and 32V infringe 32Red’s European Community Registered Trade Marks.

The Court held that William Hill’s 32 Vegas casino signs were sufficiently similar to 32Reds marks to cause a likelihood of confusion amongst consumers.

The Court also held that William Hill’s infringement caused detriment to the distinctive character & repute of 32Red’s trade marks. The Court dismissed William Hill’s counterclaim as to the validity of 32Red’s trade mark rights in the UK & European Community.

This positive judgment follows nearly two years of proceedings against William Hill. In the near future the Court will make an order on the consequences of this result. Amongst other things, 32Red will ask for:

an injunction to prevent use of 32Vegas marks in the European Community repayment of its significant legal costs an inquiry to take place to assess the extent of damages or profits arising from the infringement.

It is not possible at this stage to quantify the positive financial impact that this significant victory will eventually have. The Board will continue to keep shareholders informed of any developments as & when they arise.

Ed Ware, CEO of 32Red said:

"We are naturally delighted that the High Court has upheld our claims. This judgment firmly establishes our Intellectual Property Rights & should deter other operators from infringing our trade marks.

As highlighted by the judge, we have an excellent reputation as an online casino operator and a strong brand – these are extremely valuable assets in any marketplace."

News source: 32red Wins Trade Mark Dispute In High Court