William Hill owner 888 faces £100m legal bill as Austria gamble backfires

William owner 888 has set aside more than £100 million for possible legal action as bosses grapple with regulatory pressure abroad.

British gambling firms have come under scrutiny in Austria after the country’s three highest courts found they had been operating illegally.

Casinos Austria, which is the state-backed gambling company, has held a monopoly since 2016 and judges ruled that other firms doing business there were breaching the law and should return any player losses.

It now means that some gamblers across Europe are…