With an extensive network of high street shops, it is safe to say that William Hill are one of the most recognisable bookmakers in the business today, which is testament to their illustrious history of providing punters with a top-quality betting service for the best part of a century.
This said, their online services and specifically their handicap betting options are, let’s say, satisfactory. While they do offer a decent spread of sports betting options on their website, they do lack the same spread and depth of handicap and Asian handicap markets when compared to other high profile betting sites.
Sports coverage
William Hill do offer a decent amount of sports with handicap betting options on their website but their offering of Asian handicaps in the football markets are very limited. If you are interested in the popular sports such as football, rugby league and rugby union then you can expect to find the following types of handicap bets on offer:
- Football – 3-way 90 minutes handicap betting, 3-way first half handicap betting, 3-way second half handicap betting.
- Rugby league – 3-way 80 minutes handicap betting, no draw handicap betting, alternative 3-way handicap betting, 3-way first half handicap betting, 3-way second half handicap betting.
- Rugby union – 3-way 80 minutes handicap betting.
Albeit not a fully representative overview of William Hill’s handicap betting selections (their may be more handicap options available during big tournaments) this is still a pretty thin spread of handicap betting options when compared with other big betting sites. The most notable thing to bring to attention is the apparent lack of handicap options in the tennis betting markets, something which you wouldn’t anticipate from a leading online bookmaker.
There are options to place handicap bets on sports that are a bit out of the ordinary when using William Hill. If you’re a keen follower of baseball, American football, ice hockey, and basketball, then you will be sure to find handicaps for each. Take note that when it comes to American sports, the handicaps are often listed under different names such as “line” or “spread”. Just look out for the all important positive or negative numbers and you will easily find the handicaps for these sports.
One big positive in the handicap stakes for William Hill is that they offer the same spread of handicap options far down the football leagues. So, if you’re a bit of a lower league expert you will be able to take a handicapped punt on even the most lowly of fixtures.
Market depth
While William Hill don’t offer a hugely vast coverage of handicaps throughout the different sports in their betting markets, they do offer some variety when it comes to the handicap markets themselves. This means that you won’t simply find the handicap scenarios which give you odds as close to evens as possible but you will also be given the chance to bet on some odds that are long and some that are short.
In the football markets, it is typical to find five or so different handicap scenarios in the 3-way 90 minutes handicap market. Apply that scenario to the three possible outcomes and you have 15 odds to choose from, giving you plenty to think about when it comes to choosing your bets.
This is also the case in William Hill’s rugby league markets. Selected matches will present you with “Extra Handicaps”, which typically give you up to four alternative handicap betting scenarios and 12 different odds in total.
Positives
At first glance, the positives are hard to find when it comes to handicap and Asian handicap betting with William Hill. With a thinly spread coverage of sports and an apparent lack of Asian handicaps altogether, it would seem like William Hill are a bad option for your handicap betting needs. However, they do offer a fairly decent depth to the handicap markets which they do provide, notably in football and rugby league. These expanded alternative markets give more than enough choice for the punter and they also present some great odds.
Negatives
The negatives of William Hill’s handicap and Asian handicap betting options are plain to see. For a start, there appears to be no Asian handicap bets at all in the football pages and no handicap betting options in the tennis markets, something that puts them at a big disadvantage when compared to other leading betting sites.
Verdict
Overall, William Hill offer a handicap and Asian handicap service which is very much hit and miss. If you are looking for a comprehensive spread of Asian handicaps in the football or a whole host of weird and wonderful handicap options throughout the many sports in the William Hill sportsbook, then you will be disappointed. But, if you simply want to find a decent option of 3-way handicaps in the football from the top leagues to the lower leagues, then you can’t go wrong with William Hill.