Operator share prices surge on Conservative election victory
William Hill, GVC and Flutter shares all rise after Boris Johnson’s general election win
The UK’s biggest gambling operators received a significant boost this morning as share prices and the wider market soared following a comfortable win for Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party.
The Tories defeated a Jeremy Corbyn-led Labour Party in Thursday’s general election, winning 364 seats to 203, sealing the biggest majority for the party in more than 30 years.
Bookmaker share prices rose through Friday morning following the result, with the Conservatives expected to take a more lenient approach to gambling regulation than Labour or the Liberal Democrats.
At the time of writing, William Hill’s share price was up 5% to 178.6p, while GVC Holdings rose by 3.6% to 867p and Flutter Entertainment increased by 1.6% to 9,014p.
Shares in The Rank Group and 888 also rose by more than 5%.
The Conservatives have officially passed the winning post and are guaranteed an overall majority. They have 329 seats and counting – BBC estimate they will finish on 362. #GE19
— Betfair Exchange (@BetfairExchange) December 13, 2019
The country’s gambling industry can still expect potential enforcement action from a Conservative government, after all parties pledged to take a tougher line on regulation.
The Conservatives pledged in their manifesto to launch a full review of the 2005 UK Gambling Act, echoing Labour in calling it an “analogue law in a digital age”.
The party said it will conduct a review of the Gambling Act with a particular focus on addressing credit card misuse in gambling and issues around loot boxes.
Both issues have been already under scrutiny over the last year, with the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) mulling a potential ban on credit card usage in gambling, while a parliamentary committee enquiry recommended that loot boxes be banned due to alleged links with gambling amongst minors.
Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan-Smith, MP for Chingford & Woodford Green, took aim at the gambling sector’s treatment of VIP customers at a parliamentary hearing in September.
He is part of the Gambling Related Harm All-Party Parliamentary Group which has promised to tackle harm caused by online gambling after successfully campaigning to reduce FOBT stakes to £2.