British bookmaker William Hill has confirmed that it closed 14 of its betting shops in the Republic of Ireland in the first half of this year.
It said the absence of gaming machines and 'more limited product range' made it difficult to achieve good levels of profit. Willam Hill still operates 35 shops in the Republic.
Overall, the bookmaker reported pre-tax profits of £91.5m for the first six months of this year, a drop from the £111m in the same period last year.
Before exceptional items, trading profit fell 9% to £131.8m, despite a 5% increase in net revenue to £515.5m. Revenue from betting shops fell 1%, but online betting revenue jumped 58%.
Chief executive Ralph Topping called the performance 'solid', in a tough economic environment. But he warned that profits for its retail business in the full year were likely to be lower than expected, after a difficult July. He pointed to problems in horse-racing, saying UK racing as a product 'has not performed well'.
