888 actively seeking regional media partnerships
Operator is wary of risk and costs of national scale deals but is still considering major media firms
888 is actively seeking regional media deals to complement its independent expansion in the market, US chief Yaniv Sherman told EGR.
Using The Stars Group’s Fox Bet deal as a benchmark, Sherman said many national scale deals proved expensive and bore a lot of risk.
But despite being wary of major deals, Sherman said the firm was looking to engage with big media firms.
SVP, head of commercial development Yaniv Sherman
He said: “We are always conscious because we are in a self-sufficient, organic state of mind.
“From our experience if you have an organic, self-growth agenda, the rest are add-ons and they will follow.”
The company has been in talks for over a year but has yet to find a partner that “ticks all the boxes”, Sherman said.
“I’m positive we will have some interesting conversations and potential agreements in the near and mid-term with media outlets or brands that are out there right now.”
“We like to have partnerships we can utilise and leverage to create the return, that’s our priority,” he added.
At present 888 has a long-standing market-access deal with Caesars in New Jersey and Nevada to operate its online casino, poker and sports products.
Sherman said further market-access deals were being negotiated, but the firm is taking a multi-product approach in the States and seeking to move into markets where more than one vertical have been legalised.
The operator this month launched its new online casino platform in New Jersey and has plans to move into Pennsylvania with poker and egaming in the next few weeks.
Last week, William Hill group CEO Philip Bowcock said Hills was also looking for a media partnership in the US to complement its strategy.
Bowcock said that any such deal would not be about securing a different brand, but rather allowing it access to new media assets and potential player databases.