Fred Done, the owner of British bookmaker Betfred, has purchased a 3.03% stake in arch-rival William Hill.

It seems Done made the move based on William Hill’s position in the burgeoning US markets, saying:

“I’ve bought Hills shares because they are massively undervalued and in my opinion when it comes to the US they are front-runners.”

Indeed, in 2019, William Hill US saw $2.9bn wagered, 55% of which was online, equating to around one-quarter of all US bets. The operator is now live in nine out of the fourteen states where sports betting is now legal. Betfred itself is also establishing a US beachhead, with operations now live in Iowa and Pennsylvania.

Fred Done is nothing if not a shewed investor, exemplified by the fact that in January it emerged he and his brother, Peter Done, were making millions from a UK business that provides services to taxpayer-funded clients, including NHS trusts that are struggling to deal with gambling addiction.

Done also recently invested in the esports industry, backing Manchester-based esports publication startup GGIntel (which has already been forced to rebrand to ‘GG Recon’ after a legal battle with US tech giant Intel).

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