Sports Betting Drives 888’s H1 Healthful Growth
Published September 9, 2016 by Lee R
Customer engagement drove a diversity of gains for 888 in H1.
Gibraltar-based operating giant 888 has posted its H1 results, and growth is strong--thanks to two key factors.
Leaping Forward
A solid leap of 19% was recorded in the department of VAT excluded revenue, with 888 reporting 262 million for the period ending June 30, 2016.
Credit Where Due
The company credited its casino and sports betting divisions for the growth.
Drivers
In specific areas, Business to Consumer B2C revenue increased 21% to $229.5 million for H1, with the casino division responsible for $141.5 million of the overall figure reported, for a whopping jump of up 30% year-on-year.
Poker Lags
An area for revenue improvement for 888 was poker, whose revenue totals dropped 7% during H1 to $43.1 million.
Other Risers
Bingo held strong with a reported total of $23.1 million for 2% year-on-year growth, while sports betting revenue took in $25 million to reflecting a majorly healthy 63% growth from the same period of 2015, and 888’s emerging offerings generating $1.8 million for growth of 10% year-on-year.
More Performance Indicators
As for further areas of 888 performance, B2B revenue increased 6% year-on-year to $32.5 million. Including VAT, overall revenue for the period in review totalled $267 million, while adjusted EBITDA amounted to $44.1 million for a year-on-year increase of 8%.
Riding It Out
Despite $3 million of what 888 described as “adverse currency movements,” EBITDA grew 36% to reach $38.2 million. As for the performance bottom line of profit before taxes, 888 Holdings reported profit before tax of $27.8 million.
How Engagement Happened
Casino and sports betting drove growth due to the increase in active online casino players of 35%. This increased engagement for H1 is attributed by 888 to the launches of CRM and premium gambling content.
Factors Driving Punting
Other contributing factors contributing to the rise in sports betting acknowledged by 888 include operator-friendly UEFA Euro 2016 results, accelerated marketing initiatives, and the introduction of iGaming regulation to the Danish and Italian markets were among the factors that contributed the most to the sports betting division’s successful performance.
