888 Holdings Public Limited Company has been operating in the online gaming industry since 1997. With its major brands 888poker and 888casino, it has served over twenty five million people around the world.
It offers a variety of traditional casino games to play online, such as craps, roulette, blackjack and baccarat, classic and video slots, all accessible through personal computers, tablets and mobile devices.
Back in 2003, it relocated its headquarters from Antigua to Gibraltar, and enlisted in the UK Stock Exchange Market in 2005. 888 Holdings has had its eye on the US online gaming market for a long time, managing to become the first licensed online gaming provider in the country.
Being one of the largest online gambling operators, its every move is closely watched by the media. As the first half of 2014 brought a decline of five percent and 888’s sport books revenue fell 9% to $13.1 billion, the management decided to act before it was too late. Brian Mattingley will officially become the executive chairman of the 888 Holdings in May 2015, replacing Richard Kilsby.
Richard Kilsby has been the executive chairman of the 888 Holdings for nine years, during the course of which the company has successfully got through hard times in the constantly changing environment of online gaming.
It is believed that the decline in revenue is also due to the increased advertising for 888’s new venture called All American Poker, which made a 19% increase in the operations expenses of the company. The slow start of online gaming in New Jersey, and the bureaucratic barriers the US jurisdiction brings have taken their toll also.
It may not be over yet for 888, as US online gaming is on the rise. More and more states accept online gaming bills, which ease the online gaming operators and give them the opportunity to compete with offline casinos. 888 Holdings is hoping to launch a shared poker liquidity pool taking advantage of the deal that Nevada and Delaware made in February.
If the project is finalized, 888 will become the only licensed online gaming operator in the above-mentioned states, including New Jersey. Looking forward, 888 has its eye on the Netherlands’ progress towards regulated online gaming, and the UK’s point of consumption tax which is to be launched in December of this year. The company expects that this tax will impact its UK business, and is therefore developing ‘strategies to mitigate’ any possible financial blows.
888 Holdings has had a rough year so far, yet with its new executive chairman Brian Mattingley, it is looking strong. It has launched its Spanish sport book this month and announced its mobile casino launch for Italy later this year. With a staggering increase of 18% from mobile devices revenue in UK, 888 is about to become a ‘mobile first business’.
