Where William Hill is stronger
Few names in betting carry this much history. William Hill was founded in 1934, was a listed company in London for many years, and built its reputation on racing long before online betting existed. Racing depth and a familiar name are real strengths, and the Irish business has a fresh licence behind it: the GRAI register lists WH Ireland Limited, trading as William Hill, with remote betting licence GRAI-1096-RB-26-0001 issued on 15 July 2026.
If you bet on Irish and British racing and value a long-established brand with an Irish licensee company, William Hill does that well and we would not pretend otherwise.
Who owns it now, and why that matters for 'alternatives'
The ownership has moved twice in five years. Caesars Entertainment bought William Hill in April 2021; in July 2022 the business outside the United States was bought by 888 Holdings, which renamed itself evoke plc in 2024. The same group owns 888casino, 888sport, 888poker and Mr Green.
So if you are leaving William Hill for 888casino, or the other way round, you are staying inside one company. That is fine if you simply prefer the look of the other lobby. It is not an alternative in the sense most people mean. Our 888casino alternatives page covers the other half of that family.
What a casino player notices at a bookmaker
The honest differences are about emphasis, not quality. A bookmaker-led site arranges its home page around the day's racing and football; the casino is a section. Offers are increasingly shaped by the 2024 Act, which is moving licensed bookmakers away from inducements such as free bets and deposit matches. And the betting and casino balances usually sit side by side, which is convenient and also the easiest way to overspend without noticing.
None of that is a flaw. It just means that someone who mostly plays blackjack or slots may be better served by a site where the lobby is the front page.
Five casino-first alternatives
Cas2Bet 100% bonusCode CAS100 The one to try if you came from William Hill for the racing and stayed for the tables: a sports section on the same balance, 4,579 games and 516 live tables, which is more than twice any other site we cover. Review.
CasinoWinner 300% bonusCode WIN300 The largest first-deposit match of the five, 300%, on a lobby of 3,931 games. Worth it for a long session, less so for a quick one. Review.
ZeSlots 250% bonusCode ZESLOTS250 Slots first: 3,843 games and a 250% match. Review.
CasinoPurple 100% bonusCode PURPLE100 The same 3,843-game lobby as ZeSlots with a plainer 100% match, and a short sign-up form. Review.
YourWin24 250% bonusCode YOUR250 For a bet and a spin from one wallet: sport and casino together, 3,789 games and a 250% match. Review.
All five take cards and crypto in euro, and all five install from your phone's browser straight to the home screen.
A racing punter's guide to the casino floor
A racing bettor already understands overrounds: add up the implied chances in a book and the total comes to more than 100%, and the excess is the bookmaker's margin. A casino game has the same thing built into its rules. On European roulette the single zero gives the house 2.70% of every stake; blackjack played with basic strategy brings it down to around half a percent; slots vary from game to game and publish a return-to-player figure. The lower the edge, the longer the same budget lasts. That is the whole science, and it is the same on every site.
Our casino bonus guide applies the same arithmetic to welcome offers, so you can work out whether a match is worth taking before you type the code.
Choosing between the five in a minute
If the list above feels like too many options, answer three questions in order and stop at the first yes.
- Do you still want to bet on racing from the same account? Then Cas2Bet or YourWin24, the two with sport on the same balance. Cas2Bet if live tables matter, YourWin24 if you want the shortest sign-up.
- Do you mainly play slots? Then ZeSlots or CasinoPurple, which share the same 3,843 games. Pick ZeSlots for the bigger 250% match, CasinoPurple for the simpler 100% one.
- Do you want the most credit on day one? CasinoWinner and its 300% match, on the understanding that a bigger bonus takes longer to play through.
If none of those fits, you probably do not need a second account at all, and that is a perfectly good outcome.
One more check before you commit, whichever you pick: open the lobby on the phone you actually use, at the hour you usually play, and look for the three or four games you open most at William Hill. Most big-name slots are made by the same studios and turn up in many lobbies, but not all of them everywhere, and a missing favourite is the most common reason people drift back. Demo mode lets you do this without depositing a cent, and it takes five minutes. If the games are there and the site feels quick on your phone, the rest is detail.
Betting shop habits that help online
People who learned to bet in a shop tend to have one advantage online: they are used to handing over a set amount of cash and walking out when it is gone. Online, the equivalent is a deposit limit, set before the first game and lowered rather than raised when a week goes badly. The other shop habit worth keeping is the docket: a record of what went in. A screenshot of the cashier history once a week does the same job, and makes the combined total across two accounts impossible to ignore.
What does not transfer is the pace. A shop punter might place a handful of bets in an afternoon; a slot will take hundreds of spins in the same time. Choose a stake with that in mind. Responsible gambling covers the tools, from limits to blocking software.
What we have not checked
We have not opened a funded account at William Hill. There are no payout times or service judgements for it on this page. Its history and ownership are public record; the licence details are from the GRAI register downloaded on 24 September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is William Hill licensed in Ireland?
Yes. WH Ireland Limited, trading as William Hill, holds GRAI remote betting licence GRAI-1096-RB-26-0001, issued on 15 July 2026.
Are William Hill and 888 the same company?
Yes. 888 Holdings bought William Hill's business outside the US in July 2022 and renamed itself evoke plc in 2024. The group owns William Hill, 888casino, 888sport and Mr Green.
What is the best alternative to William Hill for live casino?
Among the sites we cover, Cas2Bet has the most live tables, 516 counted on 7 September 2026, plus a sports section on the same account. The code CAS100 gives 100% on the first deposit.
Which alternative suits a racing punter who plays slots?
ZeSlots if you want the bigger 250% match with ZESLOTS250, CasinoPurple for a plain 100% with PURPLE100; both carry the same 3,843 games. Keep the racing account for racing and give the slots account its own deposit limit.
When was William Hill founded?
In 1934.
Have you tested William Hill yourselves?
No. We describe only what is public record and publish no payout or support verdict for it.
Sources and last update
- Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland — public licence register (CSV download, register last updated 21 September 2026), retrieved 24 September 2026. Entry: WH Ireland Limited, trading name William Hill, GRAI-1096-RB-26-0001, issued 15 July 2026.
- GRAI news release, 30 June 2026: remote betting and betting intermediary licences commence on 1 July 2026; gaming, lottery and B2B licence applications to open during 2027 and 2028.
- Wikipedia, "William Hill (bookmaker)" and "Evoke plc" (founding, 2021 and 2022 acquisitions, 2024 renaming), consulted 24 September 2026.
- Our five casinos: catalogue counts of 7 September 2026, welcome codes checked active on 23 September 2026, cashiers and mobile install checked in September 2026.
Checked 2026-09-24. Rules and figures change — verify with the authority named before acting on them.