be merging its retail and online operations. On 30 September 2020, William Hill agreed to a £2.9 billion takeover bid by Caesars Entertainment, the Nevada-based casino operator. The deal was unanimously recommended by the UK company's directors. It came after two rival bids by the US private equity group Apollo were turned down. In April 2021, Caesars completed its acquisition of William Hill and the company was delisted from the London Stock Exchange. As Caesars was interested only in William Hill's industry expertise and its US operations, the European business was put up for sale, attracting bids from 888 Holdings, Apollo, and CVC. In September 2021, Caesars agreed to sell the European business to 888 Holdings for £2.2 billion. However, in July 2022, 888 reduced its offer to £1.95 billion and this was accepted. The sale was completed in July 2022. UK operations William Hill employs approximately 12,000 people, 8,000 of them in the UK. The company operates 1,414 betting shops. In addition to its online sportsbook operations, the company offers online casino games, skill games, online bingo and online poker. Since the Gambling Act 2005, gaming machines have strengthened profits to counteract falling revenues in other areas. In 2009, the company moved its online betting operations to Gibraltar to reduce its taxes by millions of pounds. In August 2010, William Hill launched a training programme for its 10,000+ workforce to combat underage gambling in its retail outlets. In 2019, William Hill became a founding member of the Betting and Gaming Council. In July 2019, William Hill announced it was closing 700 betting shops, saying this was because of the decision three months before to reduce the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals to £2. In August 2020, the company said it would close a further 119 shops that were not profitable during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the company returned £24.5 million in furlough funds it had received from the government. The company confirmed in 2018 that UK operations will continue to be managed from Gibraltar. Outside the United Kingdom In March 2009, William Hill closed 14 of its shops in the Republic of Ireland with the loss of 53 jobs. In February 2010 it announced that the remaining 36 Irish shops were "under review" pending the possible introduction of controversial gaming machines to Irish shops. In 2011, William Hill sold its remaining betting shops in Ireland