William Hill CEO Ralph Topping Rubbishes Early Exit Rumours

The chief executive of gambling giant William Hill, who has been at the company for 43 years, has hit back at rumours that he is leaving the company shortly.

In a statement following the group's latest results announcement, the boss of Britain's biggest bookmaker, Ralph Topping said "I'm here until the end of 2015."

Topping, 61, has held the leadership post at the company for the last six years.

At an Annual General Meeting in May 2013, shareholders delivered a round of rapturous applause when he announced that he would be staying on at the company for two years longer than expected.

Meanwhile, William Hill revealed that the new British tax regime for online gambling would cost the group between £60m (€73m, $100m) and £70m per year.

"While it will lead to a significant additional cost for the group ... we do believe there is potential for larger scale operators to benefit from increased market share as smaller operators may be squeezed out of the market by the additional tax burden," said the group in a statement.

The new tax regime comes into effect in December this year.

For the full year of 2013, William Hill made £335m in operating profits and revenue rose by 18% to £1.49bn.

William Hill shares rose by 2.5% in early trading to 384.12p on the news.