888 profits down 58% in FY19

Profits tumble to US$45.3million despite a 6 per cent increase in group revenues for the full year.

UK.- Online gambling firm 888 Holdings delivered its financial report for the period ending December 31, 2019, which saw a 58.3 per cent drop in profits to US$45.3million.

This compares with with the US$108.7million in recorded in 2018. The drop in profits comes despite group revenues increasing 6 per cent year on year to US$560.3million.

B2C operations in casino, sport and bingo increased 13 per cent, 12 per cent and 19 per cent respectively, while poker revenue fell by 13 per cent reflecting what 888 described as a challenging and competitive market.

According to the company, 888 is focusing on safer gambling, with the launch of its “Safer. Better. Together.” campaign, which involves encouraging UK customers’ usage of safer gambling tools.

The group has also launched a “too much is too much” safer gambling advertising campaign across TV, social and print channels in the UK and Spain.

According to Itai Pazner, CEO of 888, these campaigns are being launched in order to prevent addiction during the lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic.

“The board is closely monitoring the impact of Covid-19 on 888 and its customers. We continue to recognise that with people spending more time at home and with increased levels of stress and economic uncertainty, 888’s unwavering commitment to preventing gambling related harm is even more important than ever.” 

“We are proactively communicating with our customers to provide information on safer gambling and, where necessary, offer support. In addition, in recent weeks we have introduced several new alerts to our proprietary safe gambling software, the Observer, which constantly scans all customer activity and flags any potential areas of concern to our highly trained customer care team to act upon in order to prevent harm.

“Underpinned by the strength of 888’s technology, our growing customer base and our talented and committed team, the board continues to see a number of significant and exciting growth opportunities for 888 which we are confident of progressing during 2020 and beyond,” he added.