William Hill has had “preliminary” talks with Crownbet, of Australia, over a possible merger, with Reuters reporting that Paddy Power Betfair was also in merger talks with Crownbet Vince Caligiuri/Getty ImagesTwo of Britain’s biggest gambling companies are competing to do a deal with one of Australia’s largest betting businesses to merge their operations in the country. William Hill said yesterday that it had held “very preliminary” talks about a tie-up with Crownbet, the 62 per cent-owned online gambling division of Crown Resorts, the Australian casino business, in a move that could expand its Australian operations. Only hours after William Hill’s statement, Reuters reported that Paddy Power Betfair was also in talks with Crown Resorts over Crownbet that could lead to it joining forces with the company. A spokesman for Paddy Power declined to comment. Australia is William Hill’s second biggest market, although it makes four fifths of its earnings from its 2,375 British shops — which…

Source: The Times November 25, 2017 00:00 UTC