Market report

William Hill shares plummeted to a one-year low after Investec decided that the stock was not worth the gamble.

The broker downgraded the bookmaker’s stock from hold to sell and lowered its target price to 245p after it performed poorly across the board during the first half of the year and is facing tougher regulation in Australia. The FTSE 250 company’s shares tumbled 11.5p, or 4.5pc, to 251p.

Investec’s Alistair Ross said in the note that the ban on credit betting in Australia, which is estimated by analysts to account for just under a third of the amounts staked there, could lead to a 17.5pc loss in Australian revenue from March 2018.

Numis maintained its hold rating for the company but said that there was “no guarantee” game winning margins could recover from the poor end to the first half and added that the company will face more headwinds next year in the form of a review on fixed odds betting terminals and CMA enforcement action on “unfair” sign-up practices.

ETF analyst Neil Wilson commented that investors were “hedging their bets” as they await news on how the sector in the UK will be regulated.

He added: “It could be argued that if you strip out the regulatory factors it should be looking to do a bit better.