A total of 58 William Hill betting shops are currently up for auction, including two in east Lancashire and one in Preston.One William Hill store is available on Queen Street, Great Harwood and comes with a guide price of £120,000 to £130,000. It comes with a let to the William Hill organisation for 15 years.Another store on Chapel Street, Blackburn, has a guide price of £95,000 to £100,000.
The third premises on New Hall Lane, Preston, is being auctioned with the guide price of £110,000 to £120,000. It comes after the failures at William Hill were so “widespread and alarming” that the gambling regulator seriously considered suspending its licence, it has said. They included multiple instances when new customers were able to spend tens of thousands of pounds – one racking up £23,000 within 20 minutes – without any checks. Another was allowed to open an account and spend £18,000 in 24 hours, while a third newcomer spent £32,500 over five days, it was announced earlier this month.
Failing to identify certain customers at risk of harm led to yet another customer losing £14,902 in 70 minutes, while one customer lost £54,252 in four weeks without the operator seeking any evidence of income or carrying out adequate checks. These “insufficient controls” allowed a customer to open his account and lose £11,400 over the first 30 days, and another did not receive a telephone call from the operator until losses reached £45,800.