888 raises 2020 revenue forecast as US business expands into new states

888 has raised its 2020 revenue forecast on “high levels” of customer acquisition throughout the year and the continued shift from retail to online.

The operator did not release any official figures but said it expected revenue to be 45% higher than 2019.

EBITDA is also expected to be ahead of prior expectations, with a likely EBITDA margin of 18.5% for the full year.

888 is also expanding its US reach with three sports betting market-access agreements in Colorado, Iowa and Indiana.

888sport will launch under the licence of the Colorado Grande Casino based in Cripple Creek, Catfish Bend Casino in Iowa and Caesars’ Harrah’s Hoosier Park in Indiana.

Group CEO Itai Pazner said: “Our performance continues to reflect strong FTD trends in line with the group’s recreational customer focus as well as the structural shift towards online services being seen across several consumer-facing industries.

“We have continued to prioritise safe gambling and recognise the impact of Covid-19 on the lives of 888’s customers across global markets,” he added.

“888 continues to invest in protecting customers and has again increased the volume of interactions with customers initiated by 888’s safer gambling team in order to help prevent gambling-related harm.”

On the firm’s US expansion, SVP head of commercial development Yaniv Sherman said: “We have deployed our proprietary technology in the US, and our exciting pipeline of new products will deliver industry-leading propositions to customers across both our B2B and B2C operations.

“We continue to appraise strategic partnerships that will provide additional brand-building and market-access opportunities for 888 across the US market in the near future,” he added.

888 is currently live with its sportsbook in New Jersey only, while it offers igaming and poker in New Jersey, and its B2B poker platform is operated in Delaware and Nevada.