William Hill Ditches New Platform

Online gambling company, William Hill, made the unfortunate announcement Thursday that it will no longer be moving forward with its much-hyped new gaming platform.  The platform, named NextGen, was supposed to have launched in December 2007.  The company will now opt for a third-party solution, which will not be ready until the end of the year, to upgrade its gaming offerings. 

William Hill will be hit with a £22 million exceptional non-cash impairment in its 2007 financials, bringing its pre-tax profits down to £285 million, £7 million lower than the previous year. 

Several executives involved with the NextGen project have left the company.

Shares of William Hill fell 5 percent on Thursday, followed by another 3 percent on Friday, and are now sitting at a 52-week low of 389.25p.