William Hill thinks that increasing its stake in the Latvian market will improve brand visibility in the country. 

The operator says that its local sports betting brand, 11.lv, was rebranded, allowing for a rapid debut into the Latvian market. 

Latvia's 11.lv was purchased by William Hill in 2019 and has operated under a local licence since 2012.  

William Hill says that the branding coincides with key Latvian sporting events, such as the 2022 IIHF World Championship and the Responsible Gaming Latvian Cup, both of which took place last month. 

Nir Hakarmeli, William Hill's International Managing Director, stated: "I am quite proud of the effort done in developing the 11.lv brand in the Latvian market, which has become one of the country's leading brands.  

"This makes us well-positioned to take this strategic step, and we look forward to introducing one of the strongest brands in the industry and proving to our Latvian customers that William Hill is who you play with." 

This follows 888's announcement that it expects to acquire William Hill on or around June 30.

888 is acquiring William Hill's European assets from Caesars Entertainment, which purchased William Hill's US operations in 2021 for £2.9 billion ($3.7 billion). It might be argued that discounting the William Hill brand's power in Europe is overly simplistic.

The operator's shareholders overwhelmingly approved the transaction at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM).