BRITAIN'S second-biggest bookmaker William Hill is cantering towards a bumper year as bet-crazy punters splash out yet more on horse races, football matches and virtual casino games.

Underlying profits across the business floated 15 months ago jumped 27% to 101.9 million on turnover of 2.7 billion in the half year to 1 July with the group's gross win - a measure of the success it has against its customer - up 18%.

Chief executive David Harding said the group was enjoying growth in all three areas of its businesses - its 1600-strong chain of bookies, telephone betting and its online arm.

But he said the success of new fixedodds betting terminals, which allow punters to gamble on virtual races and bet on the spin of a computerised roulette wheel, had smashed the group's expectations.

The group now has 2525 of the terminals in its shops and Harding said they were helping to improve the predictability of future profits as well as reduce the reliance on traditional horse racing.

He said: "Are we bet crazy? I think we probably are. It's a national pastime in the UK and there is now not just horse racing but Big Brother and football."

The results come at the end of a buoyant summer for William Hill, which has shrugged aside a disastrous outcome for rival bookies at the Cheltenham Festival and the absence of any major football tournament like the World Cup.

Its shares raced from a low of 198p in February to as high as 3311/ 2p despite the decision by its private equity backers Cinven and CVC to sell virtually all of their stake in the business earlier this year.

Shareholders will receive an interim dividend of 3.5p per share, up 21%.

(c)2003. Associated Newspapers Ltd.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.