888 Holdings considers options for US operations
The UK-listed gambling operator will look to sell or exit its US B2C operations.
UK.- London-listed 888 Holdings has announced that it has ended its deal with Sports Illustrated and will evaluate options to sell or exit its US B2C operations. It blamed intense competition and low margins for the decision.
The online operator, which now owns William Hill in the UK, had entered into an exclusive deal with Authentic Brands in 2021 to offer sports betting with its Sports Illustrated brand name. However, despite the rise of sports betting in the US, the road to profitability has been a long one, even for Flutter’s FanDuel and MGM and Entain’s BetMGM, both of which only turned a profit last year.
888 is active in four US states. It said it would pay a termination fee of around $25m to end its agreement with Sports Illustrated. It says it expects to save $6m to $7m a year in 2024 and 2025.
888 CEO Per Widerström said in a statement: “In the US, the intensity of competition and requirement for scale means huge investment is required to reach profitability.”
888 has had a difficult few years, with debt from its acquisition of William Hill and major leadership changes. Last year, it sold its Latvian business, MrGreen.LV and WilliamHill.LV to Paf, the gambling operator owned by the regional government of Finland’s Åland Islands, for €28m.
