William Hill is in the final stages of recruiting startups for the gambling industry’s first ever accelerator programme, with the competition closing for entries this Sunday, 26 July.
The company is offering £25,000 up front and 12 weeks of office space and mentoring support in the London or Tel Aviv WHLabs. At the end of the programme, William Hill will offer up to £150,000 investment for the winning business that develops the most innovative product in any of six entry categories.

The accelerator is a partnership between William Hill and technology entrepreneur Stuart Marks’ investment fund L Marks. The aim of WHLabs is to identify and develop technology innovations for the gambling industry, with customers needs at the core of each idea. The accelerator is open to startups at any stage of development and has so far attracted more than 200 entries.

“The response so far has been excellent,” said Crispin Nieboer, director of corporate development and innovation in William Hill’s Shoreditch office, and executive sponsor for the initiative. “It’s great to hear from so many startups with ideas on how we can deliver a better gambling experience for customers…With one week to go I would really encourage any startups, from across the world, that offer something relevant to William Hill, to get in touch and see if we can help you grow faster.”

The six entry categories are inspired by William Hill’s core business priorities. They are:

Thrill of the ride
New technology that enhances the “thrill of the ride” from when a customer places a bet through to it being settled and that brings real entertainment value to the betting and gaming experience.

Omnichannel
Innovations that harness William Hill’s digital and land-based assets to deliver its customers an even better experience and service, and give them a more consistent William Hill experience whenever and however they want to bet.

Technical Efficiencies
Big Data technology solutions that can improve how William Hill manages its huge volumes of transactions, volatility of pricing and a multitude of data feeds, as well as take advantage of the explosion of data that are available to analyse.

Player Funnel
Businesses that can offer break-through technology solutions in marketing areas such as Pay Per Click (PPC) or social media, or innovations in segmentation, business intelligence, CRM, loyalty and responsible gaming.

New Products
New betting or gaming products that appeal to William Hill’s core customers, offer something differentiated and entertaining, and utilise emerging high-growth technologies or devices.

Surprise Us
Innovations that are so out of this world they are hard to classify.

Anyone interested in entering can find out more here.