Will Hill Record In Major UK Horse Race
Published: Friday, April 15, 2005 Online-Casinos.com
WILL HILL RECORD IN MAJOR UK HORSE RACE
71 percent increase in bets
William Hill, a fixed odds bookmaker in Britain, smashed all previous known
records for the number of bets accepted in a single day on remote channels, internet
and telephone, on the build up to this week's John Smith Grand National, a major
English horse race event.
At peak times, Hills successfully managed over
25,000 concurrent online users, accepted more than 300,000 individual bets and
answered more than 112,000 telephone calls. "All in all, it was the biggest
individual betting day in history, bar none," said David Hood, Director Of
Public Relations at William Hill.
The sheer volume of business and demand
from concurrent users means Grand National Day has always provided the off-course
betting industry with its biggest annual test. In the past it has often proved
too demanding for the IT infrastructure of some bookmakers, including one or two
of the leading high street brands.
However, through their continual investment
in IT and telephone technology William
Hill handled the increased business with aplomb. On Saturday, the FTSE 100
quoted company successfully managed an 11.7 percent increase in the number of
answered telephone calls and an incredible 71 percent increase in the number of
bets taken on one of its dedicated internet sites, William Hill Grand National.com.
At peak times Hills employs over 600 telephone customer service agents,
spread among three call centres in two cities. From an opening time of 8am on
Saturday, right up to the start of the Grand National at 4.10, Hills successfully
answered more than 112,000 individual telephone calls which it believes to be
almost double the successful call acceptance of its competitors.
On the
Internet, Hills also sets the benchmark for the industry by successfully handling
well in excess of 300,000 individual bet transactions. To ensure that the main
sportsbook website, William Hill.co.uk was not impacted upon by new account registrations,
Hills operated a dedicated 'sister site', William Hill Grand National.com to which
new registrants were directed. This site alone, handled almost 30,000 (a 95% increase
from 2004) in new account registrations, with a 71 percent increase in the number
of bets placed.
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