888 En Route to Meet 2018 EBITDA Objectives

Global gambling behemoth, London’s own 888 Holdings, has stated during a press conference on Wednesday, December 19th that annual earning forecasts will – by all s – be realized and meet management’s expectations.

With the financial year closure getting on December 31st, the operator cites one key reason why that is so: the UK business is going exceptionally well towards the end of Q4…

…There were some remarkably positive trends on the UK market in the year’s dying weeks – this Wednesday at 10:50 AM, company’s share price was trading up 6.88% at 181.70 pence per share.

UK and US to the Rescue

Performance on the market of Great Britain took a turn for the better at the beginning of H2 and did not look back. The rest of continental Europe kept a steady pace when it comes to online casino and sports betting operations. This year’s success is also owing to brand new platform that was launch this spring and was immediately rolled out to operators in multiple jurisdictions – Orbit.

USA – turning into a market of constant excitement this year with the liberalization of sports betting – was the other equally important factor in 888’s soaring finance:

As coalitions between betting brands and professional sports teams are becoming a new normal, 888 jumped on the bandwagon and made most of the unused sponsorship deals by inking one with NFL’s New York Jets.

Prior to that, the company entered the extremely successful market of New Jersey via Evolution Live Casino while the most recent of US endeavors was the acquisition of the All American poker Network of which the company said signals “an important strategic milestone that will facilitate the Group’s further growth strategy in the US.”

A Swift Recovery

Still, the most fascinating aspect of 888’s economical bravado in 2018 is the dramatic turn of events that followed the sharp decline in UK revenue in first half of the year…

…Having plummeted by as much as 18%, the revenue was, according to hindsight analysis – “negatively impacted by efforts to align with the stricter regulatory environment acorss the market.” A valid insight, since the United Kingdom Gambling Commission raised its strictness bar in 2018 and has recently called for a t effort on a new national strategy for battling gambling-related harm.

888’s CEO Itai Freiberger has said that company has continued to deliver progress against the strategic objectives, and added: “The group has continued to focus on driving growth in regulated markets, enhancing compliance, and delivering exciting product innovation. Underpinned by the strength of the group’s technology as well as our fantastic team and diversification across products and regulated markets, the board remains excited by 888’s long-term growth prospects.”

Source:

“888 on track to hit 2018 targets as UK performance improves”, igamingbusiness.com, December 19, 2018.