Wagering giant William Hill hopes a new sponsorship deal with the Australian Open tennis tournament will give a much-needed boost to its local operations, after posting disappointing results for the   September quarter. 
William Hill, headed in Australia by Tom Waterhouse, revealed on Friday it would be the first wagering firm to sponsor an international grand slam tennis tournament.
On the same day it unveiled its third-quarter results for its 2015 calendar and financial year, which revealed falling profits in Australia - which accounts for about 6 per cent of the group's revenue around the world.
In Australia, betting turnover dropped 31 per cent compared with the same period a year ago, while revenue and operating profit fell 36 per cent and 91 per cent respectively. But the number of new accounts has risen 15 per cent since the relaunch of the William Hill Australia brand in   February.
William Hill has been trying to migrate customers from the Sportingbet and tomwaterhouse.com brands to its William Hill website after acquiring the two businesses in 2013. It plans to move remaining tomwaterhouse.com customers to the brand by the end of this year.
"The Australia wagering numbers continue to reflect the trading and client management activities, as well as the brand transition, and yes there's a little way to go yet, but I ... can see the pieces are coming together to make this a highly competitive business in a highly competitive market," said William Hill global chief executive James Henderson.
He said the company's new iPhone app, released at the start of the spring racing carnival in   September and ahead of schedule, had been well received. "Significant improvements have been made, including easier placing of accumulator bets and display of multiple markets."
Henderson also said the tennis sponsorship would be a key component of William Hill's in-play betting strategy around the world.
In Australia, the firm has promoted its "click-to-call" service that allows punters to place calls over the internet to wager during events.
Waterhouse said the sponsorship move would further boost William Hill's brand awareness.