888 Holdings Expects 2014 Profits Will Reflect Inroads into U.S. iGaming Market

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Wednesday, October 16th, 2013 | Written by Charles Washington

With the burgeoning of the United States online gambling market, one big winner is already emerging, and that is well-known online betting company 888 Holdings.

Though only one state has so far seen its market officially launch, that being Nevada, 888 is well-positioned to be a big player in the industry as Americans begin to gain access to real-money online poker games and other forms of Internet-based wagering.

The company is already forecasting that 2014 will be a profitable year, with much emphasis being placed on 888’s position within the nascent U.S. iGaming marketplace, this according to a recent report by Reuters.

888 has presence in all three regulated states

888 is in the enviable position of having a presence in all three states that have thus far enacted legislation that will permit residents to access real-money online wagering web sites, and it plans to start realizing revenue increases next year as sites in those states begin to go live.

“In 2014, we should start to see some meaningful revenues come through,” said 888 chief executive officer Brian Mattingley.

Delaware, New Jersey, and Nevada, have all passed such laws, though, as mentioned above, only Nevada has seen sites go live. New Jersey is slated to launch its market on November 26, with Delaware also set to begin allowing real-money online wagering sometime this fall, though an exact go date has not yet been confirmed for that state.

In New Jersey as well as in Delaware, a comprehensive suite of online betting options will be available to those who are over the legal age of twenty-one and are physically located within the respective borders of the state when accessing the games.

By contrast, current Nevada law only permits online poker to the exclusion of other forms of Internet-based wagering. So far the Silver State has two operational online poker rooms – Ultimate Poker, which launched back in April of this year, and Caesars’ owned WSOP.com, which opened its virtual doors to players last month.

888 has entered into multiple partnership deals

All three states will have some affiliation with 888, one of the world’s most recognizable Internet betting brands, as it has formed partnership deals with multiple other companies in advance of the commencement of U.S.-facing online wagering.

888 is already a major force in the European online gambling market, and is known for having an incredibly wide selection of games. In the state of New Jersey, 888 has entered into a partnership deal with Caesars as well as formed a separate operating agreement with Wynn.

Over in the Nevada – the first state to pass a law permitting real-money online poker in the United States when it did so back in 2011 – 888 has teamed up with Treasure Island. The new WSOP.com online poker room is also powered by 888’s back end.

Perhaps the company can be most proud of its Delaware iGaming deal, however. The Delaware State Lottery will oversee that state’s online betting market, and has appointed 888 to be the major service provider in conjunction with Scientific Games. Therefore, all betting sites operating in the state of Delaware will be run through 888.

As more states look into following suit, 888 also plans expansion

Federal regulation of online gambling looks to be more of a long shot than ever at this point, with partisan scrapping in Congress at a fevered pitch and the government still in shutdown mode due to an impasse about the budget and the Affordable Care Act. In the absence of action at the national level, a state by state patchwork of regulation is looking as if it will be the way forward for iGaming legislation in the U.S.

Though Mattingley pointed out that assessing which states will be the next to move forward on Internet wagering legislation is an impossible task, he said the company is eyeing California and hopes to be a player in all the states that decide to regulation online gambling. The nation’s most popular state, California has mulled allowing access to online betting. Other states in contention include Illinois, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.

“California is the prize. We are working flat out to identify some quality partners out there,” Mattingley was quoted as saying.