William Hill making play for Centrebet

UK based sports betting giant William Hill is tipped to be the front runner in possible acquisition talks with Aussie bookmaker Centrebet.

Back in March, Centrebet revealed that they were being courted as an acquisition target by a number of companies. Conditional proposals were on the table, and it has since been revealed that one of those proposals is from William Hill.

The Sunday Times yesterday reported that William Hill's purchase offer is in the vicinity of GBP 80 million. Ladbrokes and Bwin are also believed to be interested but no details of what they are prepared to pay have surfaced.

Interest in the Australian betting market is growing following Productivity Commission recommendations to further liberalize the online betting market there. Paddy Power have already moved to secure an interest in Australian online sports books Sportsbet.com.au and Mark Read's IASBet.

Further acquisition activity is expected.