William Hill plans cost cuts to offset new tax regime

LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Leading British bookmaker William Hill said on Friday it planned to cut costs by up to 20 million pounds ($33.3 million) in 2015 to offset the impact of a new tax regime for online gambling.

William Hill (Other OTC: WIMHF - news) said it was well placed to take advantage of what it called a "market changing" event when the planned tax change takes effect in December.

The comments came as William Hill reported operating profit of 335 million pounds in 2013, an increase of 3 percent on a comparable period a year earlier.

Revenue rose 18 percent to 1.49 billion pounds of which net retail revenue accounted for 907 million pounds, up 10 percent, and online revenue rose 12 percent to 446 million pounds.

Online gambling companies are jostling for customers as the industry faces a shake-up over government plans to close a loophole that has allowed businesses to base their online activities offshore to cut their tax bills.

"While it will lead to a significant additional cost for the Group ... we do believe there is potential for larger scale operators to benefit from increased market share as smaller operators may be squeezed out of the market by the additional tax burden," the company said.