07 August 2025

.williamhill New gTLD Application

07 August 2025

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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: William Hill Organization Limited

String: williamhill

Originally Posted: 13 June 2012

Application ID: 1-1755-98806

Applicant Information

Full legal name

William Hill Organization Limited

Address of the principal place of business

Greenside House

50 Station Road

London N22 7TP

Phone number

+44 0208 9183600

Fax number

+44 0208 9183775

If applicable, website or URL

http:⁄⁄www.williamhill.com

Primary Contact

6(a). Name

Mr. Ian Smith

6(b). Title

Head of Architecture

6(c). Address

6(d). Phone Number

+44 0759 5217062

6(e). Fax Number

+44 0113 3974622

6(f). Email Address

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Secondary Contact

7(a). Name

Mr. Pat Mills

7(b). Title

Infrastructure Architect

7(c). Address

7(d). Phone Number

+44 0780 3148797

7(e). Fax Number

+44 0113 3974622

7(f). Email Address

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Proof of Legal Establishment

8(a). Legal form of the Applicant

UK Limited Company

8(b). State the specific national or other jursidiction that defines the type of entity identified in 8(a).

8(c). Attach evidence of the applicant's establishment.

Attachments are not displayed on this form.

9(a). If applying company is publicly traded, provide the exchange and symbol.

9(b). If the applying entity is a subsidiary, provide the parent company.

William Hill PLC

9(c). If the applying entity is a joint venture, list all joint venture partners.

Applicant Background

11(a). Name(s) and position(s) of all directors

David Steele Group Commercial Director

Neil Cooper Group Finance Director

Thomas Murphy General Counsel & Company Secretary

11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners

Dennis Read Company Secretary

11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares

Will Hill Ltd Not Applicable

11(d). For an applying entity that does not have directors, officers, partners, or shareholders: Name(s) and position(s) of all individuals having legal or executive responsibility

Applied-for gTLD string

Provide the applied-for gTLD string. If an IDN, provide the U-label.

williamhill

14(a). If an IDN, provide the A-label (beginning with "xn--").

14(b). If an IDN, provide the meaning or restatement of the string in English, that is, a description of the literal meaning of the string in the opinion of the applicant.

14(c). If an IDN, provide the language of the label (in English).

14(c). If an IDN, provide the language of the label (as referenced by ISO-639-1).

14(d). If an IDN, provide the script of the label (in English).

14(d). If an IDN, provide the script of the label (as referenced by ISO 15924).

14(e). If an IDN, list all code points contained in the U-label according to Unicode form.

15(a). If an IDN, Attach IDN Tables for the proposed registry.

Attachments are not displayed on this form.

15(b). Describe the process used for development of the IDN tables submitted, including consultations and sources used.

15(c). List any variant strings to the applied-for gTLD string according to the relevant IDN tables.

Describe the applicant's efforts to ensure that there are no known operational or rendering problems concerning the applied-for gTLD string. If such issues are known, describe steps that will be taken to mitigate these issues in software and other applications.

The string applied for is consistent with the protocols established and in use within the Internet for over 25 years, and is coded according to the rules of the ASCII character set.

(OPTIONAL) Provide a representation of the label according to the International Phonetic Alphabet (http://www.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/).

Mission/Purpose

18(a). Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD.

Mission and Purpose of .williamhill Generic Top-level domain

A Brief Overview of William Hill – Trusted brand aim to be at the forefront of technology

William Hill is the UKʹs leading bookmaker and one of the most recognised and trusted brands in the gambling industry, providing gaming and betting services across multiple channels: online, on the high street, on the phone and on the move. We have been listed on the London Stock Exchange (WMH.L) since 2002 and employ over 15,000 people in the UK, Gibraltar, Israel and Bulgaria.

Our aim is to give our customers what they want, when they want it, where they want it. Well-known for our 75-year sports-betting heritage, we also offer a full range of gaming products. We are continuously evolving our product range to meet the changing demands of a wide and diverse customer base looking for an exciting and entertaining gambling experience.

Our international expansion strategy is led by William Hill Online, with online being the quickest and most cost-effective route to reach customers in new markets. Since it was established in December 2008, William Hill Online has focused on developing market-leading sports-betting alongside high-quality, competitive gaming. We aim to grow our UK market share and to expand into new territories, particularly in Europe, using our strong brand name, sports-betting knowledge, market-leading gaming products and marketing expertise. Looking ahead, key themes for this business will include the nature and scope of emerging regulation, market by market. Legal frameworks for online gambling are now being established in a number of marketplaces. Market liberalisation offers new growth opportunities for regulated businesses such as William Hill Online, enabling us to advertise locally for the first time, which allows long-term brand-building.

We aim to be at the forefront of technology and extending our service to new platforms and devices. In Retail, we combine leading-edge hardware with competitive games in our offering of gaming machines. This is complemented on the sports-betting side with technology such as self-service betting terminals which give customers access to the wide array of betting opportunities. In Online, we are extending into new markets such as financial betting and a wide range of in-play betting. We are also using technological developments in mobile betting to enable customers to access our products in a fast, efficient and tailored way.

We are seriously protecting William Hill’s trusted and widely recognised brand

We believe that William Hill’s long-established, trusted and widely recognised brand and reputation represent a significant competitive advantage in the development of its betting and gaming activities, particularly as the gambling industry becomes increasingly competitive.

As part of our continuous effort to protect our brand and intellectual property, we have registered trademarks around the globe, including WILLIAM HILL, WILLHILL, 21NOVA and the William Hill Logo, and we have applied to register many other trademarks., as partly demonstrated in respect of ʹWILLIAM HILLʹ registered trade mark in the following table.

COUNTRY REG. NO CLASSES

United Kingdom 1383971 36

European Union 3631471 9, 28, 36, 38, 41

Australia 931118 9, 36, 38, 41

Norway 2 239577 9, 28, 36, 38, 41

Turkey 2007⁄21797 9, 28, 36, 38, 41

China 3384867 36

3384866 38

3384865 41

3384868 9

United States of America 3102564 9, 38, 41

4051639 9, 21, 23, 26, 36 ,38

Our globally well-known gambling services (like William Hill Poker and William Hill Quickbet Racing ⁄ Wheel) are so connected to our William Hill brand that some of them are actually registered as standalone trademarks, as partly demonstrated in the following table:

SERVICE ⁄ TRADEMARK COUNTRY(s) REG. NO CLASSE(s) MAIN WEBSITE(s)

WILLIAM HILL BETLINK Antigua & Barbuda 741 9, 36, 41 betlink.uk.com

betlink.gb.com

betlink.us.com

WILLIAM HILL POKER China 5811277 28 williamhillpoker.com

5811278 36 williamhillpoker.co.uk

5811279 39 williamhillpoker.com.cn

5811280 41 williamhillpoker.com.pt

5811276 9 williamhillpoker.cz

williamhillpoker.dk

williamhillpoker.es

williamhillpoker.eu

WILLIAM HILL QUICKBET CARDS European Union 3631488 9, 28, 36, 38, 41

WILLIAM HILL QUICKBET RACING European Union 3197118 9, 36, 41

WILLIAM HILL QUICKBET WHEEL European Union 3631454 9, 28, 36, 38, 41

WILLIAM HILL TOUCH SCREEN BETTING United Kingdom 2305582 41

WILLIAM HILL TOUCH SCREEN ROULETTE United Kingdom 2305569 41

We believe that prominent online presence is absolutely vital to our success and essentials to secure a dominant position in the gambling industry. We have operated our main website www.williamhill.com since September 1998 and we already have dominant online presence in numerous jurisdictions and TLD’s, as partly demonstrated in the following table:

Europe

Community (wiiliamhill.eu)

UK (williamhill.co.uk)

Netherlands (williamhill.co.nl)

Greece (williamhill.gr)

Spain (williamhill.es)

Germany (williamhill.de)

Austria (williamhill.at)

French (williamhill.fr)

Denmark (williamhill.dk)

Hungary (williamhill.hu)

Latvia (williamhill.lv)

Belgium (williamhill.be)

Russia (williamhill.ru)

Asia

Asia (williamhill.asia)

Israel (williamhill.co.il)

India (williamhill.in)

Hong Kong (williamhill.hk)

Taiwan (williamhill.tw)

America & Australia

Mexico (williamhill.mx)

Australia (williamhill.com.au)

United States (williamhill.us)

General TLD’s

Main Website (www.williamhill.com)

Mobile (williamhill.mobi)

ORG (williamhill.org)

NET (williamhill.net)

.williamhill gTLD serve an important role in William Hill Online Mission

The mission and purpose of this TLD is to provide a global, consistent identity on the Internet of .williamhill and all related institutions. As such, .williamhill intends to limit registration of domains either for its exclusive use or for use by closely affiliated organizations in a manner that contributes to the purpose of this TLD. .williamhill also intends to govern the domain names registered to limit confusion and enhance user experience. To accomplish these objectives, .williamhill may be the sole registrant of domains in the TLD. However, due consideration has been made to all aspects of registry operations including the functions and policies defined throughout this application.

18(b). How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?

18(b)

We propose .williamhill to be a restricted gTLD for the internal use of William Hill Organization Limited and its affiliated entities.

We believe that satisfied users are the best and most credible advocates for our services. In order to improve user satisfaction and loyalty and to continue to use our products and services as marketing tools, we constantly experiment with and improve the design, technology and interface of these products and services, we believe having all our services promoted from a single consistent gTLD will make it easier for our users to access and utilize our services.

In accordance to the above only Eligible registrants will be allowed to register domains names under the gTLD in accordance to the registration policy set below.

William Hill Organization Limited’s Registration Policy

Domain Name Licenses Upon registration of a Domain Name, the Registrant holds a license to use the Domain Name for a specified period in accordance with the Registry Rules. Domain Names may be registered and renewed for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 years.

Selection of Registrars Registrars eligible to register domain names must meet the following non-discriminatory criteria (in compliance with clause 2.9 (a) of the Registry Agreement):

(i) be an accredited ICANN Registrar;

(ii) demonstrate a level of understanding of the Domain Name registration policies of the Registry;

(iii) have experience managing the Domain Names of major corporations;

(iv) have proven tools for domain name portfolio management;

(v) have business processes to perform automated validation (and any additional human checks as required by the Registry) of the eligibility of the domain name for registration according to the Domain Name policies of the William Hill Organization Limited;

(vi) demonstrate a sufficient level of security to protect against unauthorized access to the Domain Name records;

(vii) demonstrate experience and have appropriate resources in managing abuse prevention, mitigation and responses;

(viii) provide multi-language support for the registration of IDNs;

(ix) comply with any re-validation of its Registry-Registrar agreement at a regular interval as determined by the Registry or as required by ICANN from time to time;

(x) meet applicable technical requirements of the William Hill Organization Limited; and

(xi) comply with all conditions, dependencies, policies and other requirements reasonably imposed by William Hill Organization Limited, including maintenance of suitable systems and applications that are capable of interacting with the Registry system.

Eligible Registrants The Registrant must be:

(i) an Affiliate entity of William Hill Organization Limited; or

(ii) an organisation explicitly authorized by William Hill Organization Limited; or

(iii) a natural person explicitly authorized by William Hill Organization Limited.

If the Registrant does not meet one of the above eligibility criteria, there is no entitlement to register a Domain Name under the .williamhill gTLD.

If the Registrant ceases to be eligible at any time in future, the Registry may cancel or suspend the licence to use the Domain Name immediately.

Registry approval requirement

Registration of Domain Names under .williamhill gTLD must be approved by William Hill Organization Limited in addition to meeting all requirements under the Registry Rules. William Hill Organization Limited’s approval for complete and valid application submitted will be authorised by:

(i) William Hill Organization Limited Hostmaster (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) (“Authorization Provider”); or

(ii) an authorized person as nominated by William Hill Organization Limited (“Authorised Person”) and notified to Registrar from time to time.

Authorisation Provider will notify the Registrar of its decision.

Required criteria for Domain Name registration

An application for Domain Name registration must meet all the following criteria:

(i) availability;

the Domain Name is not already registered;
it is not reserved or blocked by the Registry; or
it meets all Registry’s technical requirements;

(ii) technical requirements;

a maximum of 63 characters (after its conversion into the ASCII for IDNs);
use of characters selected from the list of supported characters as nominated by the Registry;

(iii) the Domain Name must be consistent with the mission and purposes of the gTLD and consistent with the Domain Name registration policy of William Hill Organization Limited, and include but not be limited to:

product name;
service name;
marketing term;
geographic identifier; or
any relevant name or term as approved by Authorisation Provider or Authorised Person.

(iv) compliance with all requirements under the Registry Rules: the Registrant must comply with all provisions contained in the Registry Rules.

Obligation of Registrants

The Registrant must enter into an agreement with the Registrar for Domain Name registration under which the Registrant will be bound by the Registry Rules specified through the Registry-Registrar agreement as amended by the Registry from time to time.

The Registrant must also agree to be bound by the minimum requirements in clause 3.7.7 of ICANNʹs Registrar accreditation agreement.

The Registrant represents and warrants that:

(i) it meets, and will continue to meet, the eligibility criteria at all times and must notify the Registrar if it ceases to meet such criteria;

(ii) the registration, renewal and use of the Domain Name does not violate any third party intellectual property rights, applicable laws or regulation;

(iii) it is entitled to register the Domain Name;

(iv) the registration and use of the Domain Name is made in good faith and for a lawful purpose;

(v) if the use of registered Domain Name is licensed to a third party,

the Registrant must have a licencing agreement with the licensee for the use of the Domain Name that is not less onerous than the obligation of the Registrant contained in the Registry Rules; and
where there is a breach of any provisions contained in the Registry Rules by the licensee of the Domain Name, Registry may revoke the Domain Name at its sole discretion.

(vi) it owns or otherwise has the right to provide all registration data (including personal information) for each Domain Name registered and provision of such registrant data complies with all applicable data protection laws and regulations; and

(vii) It has appropriate consent and licences to allow for publication of registration data in the WHOIS database.

Registrant contact information

The Registrant must provide complete and accurate contact information of the Registrant (in accordance with clause 3.7.7.1 of the ICANN’s Registrar accreditation agreement), including but not limited to the following;

(i) if the Registrant is a company or organization:

name of a company or organization;
registered office and principal place of business; and
contact details of the Registrant including e-mail address and telephone number;

(ii) if the Registrant is a natural person:

full name of the Registrant;
address of the Registrant; and
contact details of the Registrant including e-mail address and telephone number.

All Registrant contact information must be complete and accurate.

Any changes to such Registrant information must be promptly notified to the Registrar, and no later than one (1) month of such change.

Revocation of Domain Names

The Registrant acknowledges that the Registry may revoke a Domain Name immediately at its sole discretion:

(i) in the event the Registrant breaches any Registry Rules;

(ii) to comply with applicable law, court order, government rule or under any dispute resolution processes;

(iii) where such Domain Name is used for any of the following prohibited activities (Prohibited Activities):

spamming;
intellectual property and privacy violations;
obscene speech or materials;
defamatory or abusive language;
forging headers, return addresses and internet protocol addresses;’
illegal or unauthorised access to other computers or networks;
distribution of internet viruses, worms, Trojan horses or other destructive activities; and
any other illegal or prohibited activities as determined by the Registry.

(iv) in order to protect the integrity and stability of the domain name system and the Registry;

(v) where such Domain Name is placed under reserved names list at any time; and

(vi) where Registrant fails to make payment to the Registrar for registration, renewal or any other relevant services.

Use of second or third level IDNs

In addition to meeting all required criteria for registration of domain names above, an application for an IDN Domain Name must:

(i) meet all technical requirement for the applicable IDN;

(ii) comply with the IDN tables used by the Registry as amended from time to time; and

Use of Geographic names

All two-character labels and country and territory names will be initially reserved in accordance with specification 5 of the Registry Agreement.

Upon approval from ICANN and any other guidelines by applicable governments and ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee, the Registry may release the two-character labels and country and territory names in accordance with William Hill Organization Limited’s response to Question 22 Geographic Names.

Reserved Names The Registry may place certain names in its reserved list from time to time where:

(i) the Registry believes in its sole discretion that use of such names may pose a risk to the operational stability or integrity of the Registry;

(ii) in accordance with ICANN’s specifications contained in the Registry Agreement, guidelines or recommendations;

(iii) there is a risk of trademark infringement or where the name otherwise may cause confusion taking into consideration the mission and purpose of the gTLD; or

(iv) the Registry in its sole discretion decides certain names to be reserved for any reason.

Allocation of Domain Name

The Registry will register Domain Names on a first-come, first-served basis in accordance with the Registry Rules.

The Registry does not provide pre-registration or reservation of Domain Names.

Limitation on registration ⁄ Domain Name licences

There is no restriction on the number of Domain Names any Registrant may hold.

The Registrant may further licence the use of the Domain Name to any third parties provided that the Registrant enters into an agreement with such third parties on the terms not less onerous than its obligations under the Registry Rules.

Protection of third party intellectual property rights

The Registry will implement all rights protection measures as required by ICANN in clause 2.8 of the Registry Agreement, including the use of the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) procedure, and Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).

Term of registration ⁄ renewal Initial term of registration:

A Domain Name can be registered for a period between one (1) to ten (10) years.

Renewal of registration:

(i) The term may be extended at any time for a period between one (1) to ten (10) years, provided that the total aggregate term of the Domain Name does not exceed ten (10) years at any time.

(ii) Upon change of sponsorship of the Domain Name from one Registrar to another, according to Part A of the ICANN Policy on Transfer of Registrations between Registrars, the term of registration of registered Domain Name will be extended by one year, provided that the maximum term of registration at any time does not exceed ten (10) years.

(iii) The change of sponsorship of registration of Domain Name from one Registrar to another, accordingly to Part B of the ICANN Policy on Transfer of Registrations between Registrars will not result in the extension of the term of registration.

Cancellation of registration:

The Registrant may cancel a Domain Name registration at any time by submitting its request with the Registrar.

Auto-renewal:

Upon expiry of the Domain Name, the Registry will auto-renew the Domain Name for a one year term (1) year term unless the Registrant submits its intention not to renew the Domain Name.

The Registry will implement the business rules for renewal of Domain Names documented in appendix 7 of the .com Registry Agreement.

Transfer of Domain Names between registrants

Any transfer of a Domain Name between Registrants must be approved by the Registry through the Registrar.

The legal heirs of the Registrant or purchaser of the Registrant may request the transfer provided that they meet the eligibility criteria for registration under .William Hill Organization Limited.

If the Registrant becomes subject to insolvency or any other proceeding, the administrator may request the transfer. The transferee must provide appropriate documentation as required by Registry to approve such transfer.

Change of Registrar

If the agreement between the Registry and the Registrar is terminated and if the Registrar has not transferred its Domain Name portfolio to another Registrar, the Registry will notify affected Registrants. The Registrants must select a new Registrar within one (1) month following such notice from the Registry. If the Registrant fails to appoint a new Registrar within the timeframe set out above, the Registry may suspend the Domain Name.

If the Registrant wishes to change the Registrar, the Registrant must obtain the auth-info code from the Registrantʹs current Registrar, and request a transfer through the gaining Registrar in compliance with ICANNʹs Inter-Registrar transfer policy.

Privacy and Data Protection

By registering a Domain Name, the registrant authorises the Registry to process personal information and other data required for the operation of the .williamhill. The Registry will only use the data for the operation of the Registry including but not limited to its internal use, communication with the Registrant, and provision of WHOIS look-up facility.

The Registry may only transfer the data to third parties:

(i) with the Registrant’s consent;

(ii) in order to comply with laws, regulations or orders by a competent public authority and any Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) providers; or

(iii) for a publicly available and searchable WHOIS look-up facility, in accordance with specification 4 of the Registry Agreement.

WHOIS The Registry provides a publicly available and searchable WHOIS look up facility, where information about the Domain Nameʹs status (including creation and expiry dates), and registrant, administrative and the technical contact administering the Domain Name can be found, in accordance with specification 4 of the Registry Agreement.

In order to prevent misuse of the WHOIS look up facility, the Registry requires any person submitting a WHOIS database query will be required to read and agree to the terms and conditions, which informs that:

(i) the WHOIS database is provided for information purposes only; and

(ii) the user agrees not to use the WHOIS information to allow or enable the transmission of unsolicited commercial advertising or other communication via email or other methods to the Registrants.

Pricing ⁄ Payment

The new gTLD does not charge a separate fee for the Registrar to register domain names, as the gTLD is used only for the mission and purpose of William Hill Organization Limited. William Hill Organization Limited bears the cost of operating the Registry. The Registry will provide Registrars with 30 days’ notice of any price change for new registrations, and 180 days advance notice of any price change for renewals in accordance with clause 2.10 of the Registry Agreement.

Dispute Resolution

The Registrant agrees to be bound by ICANN’s Dispute Resolution Policies in respect of all disputes in connection with the Domain Name.

Compliance with Consensus and Temporary Policies

The Registrant agrees to be bound by all applicable consensus and temporary policies as required and mandated by ICANN.

Definitions

Affiliate means in relation to a party any corporation or other business entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control of that party and for the purposes of this definition, a corporation or other business entity shall be deemed to control another corporation or business entity if it owns directly or indirectly:

(i) fifty percent (50%) or more of the voting securities or voting interest in any such corporation or other entity; or

(ii) fifty percent (50%) or more of the interest in the profit or income in the case of a business entity other than a corporation; or

(iii) in the case of a partnership, any other compatible interest equal to at least a fifty percent (50%) share in the general partner.

Domain Name means a domain name registered directly under the .williamhill or for which a request or application for registration has been filed with the Registry;

ICANN’s Dispute Policy means the dispute policy currently known as the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) issued and as may be updated from time to time by the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Number (ICANN) and the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) (see Specification 7 of the Registry Agreement).

Registrar means an ICANN accredited registrar which enters into and is in compliance with the registry-registrar agreement for the TLD, and which provides domain name registration services to Registrants;

Registry means Neustar Inc

Registry Agreement means the agreement between William Hill Organization Limited and ICANN;

Registry Rules mean:

(i) Registration terms and conditions agreed between the Registry and Registrant for registration of a Domain Name; and

(ii) Registration policies provided and amended by the Registry from time to time.

Registrant means a natural person, company or organisation who holds a Domain Name registration or who has requested or applied for the registration of a Domain Name;

Privacy Protection

We will be offering the same level of privacy protection that we offer currently across all our products and services, both via William Hill Organization Limtied and⁄or connected companies

You can see the current full version of our Privacy Policies here:-

http:⁄⁄www.williamhillplc.com⁄wmh⁄siteservices⁄privacy⁄

http:⁄⁄faq.williamhill.com⁄general⁄310.html

18(c). What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs?

As stated in the responses to Questions 18(b), 28 and 29 William Hill Organization Limited has developed complete Registration Policies, Registry Acceptable Use Policies, UDRP ⁄ URS Policies and Trademark ⁄ Sunrise Procedures designed to minimize negative consequences for potential .williamhill registrants.