888.COM ON A ROLL

15 February 2008

First yearly report since UIGEA shows good recovery


Gibraltar-based online gambling group 888.com has announced strong fourth quarter 2007 results, completing the first full year of reportage for the company since the US market was disrupted by the introduction of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in October 2006.

The company reported that thus far 2008 trading is delivering impressive results, with significant increases in business from non-US online gamblers. 888.com withdrew from the US market in the wake of the UIGEA, which forbids US financial transactions with online gambling companies.

Q4 net gaming revenue was up by 60 percent at $63 million, with casino games bringing in $35 million and $21 million coming from the group poker sites. The group had earlier set a confident target of tripling profits and doubling revenues by the end of 2010, and has made a significant start on realising this ambition.

Quarter on quarter, casino and poker NGR grew 37 percent for the group.

888 revealed that by the end of 2007 it had 4.7 million registered players, with new bingo sites bringing in revenue of $14 million since May last year when it bought the bingo business.

Highlights in the overall report include 36 percent growth in net gaming revenue to US$213 million for the 12-month period to the end of December 2007, compared with US$157 million over the same period in 2006. CEO Gigi Levy drew attention to the launch of 888’s new bingo product 888Ladies, a live-casino product and Asian handicap sports-betting for the Asian market, all offering good future potential.

Online casino operations delivered net gaming revenues of US$118 million, up 33 percent from the 2006 number of US$89 million. Poker NGR for the year 2007 was up 18 percent at US$81 million from US$68 million in 2006.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa