9: 888 Holdings (2016)
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride – it’s a phrase fast becoming associated with 888. Following last year’s failure to land bwin.party, the firm was in recent months rebuffed in its attempts to land a three-way merger with Rank and William Hill – the latter simply not willing to sit down to talk business.
CEO Itai Frieberger is on record as wanting a proprietary sportsbook to complete its in-house product set, so chances are 888 will continue to scour the market for further acquisition opportunities. In the meantime, the business continues to grow organically with day-to-day operations seemingly unaffected by its M&A dalliances.
Although taxes have hit profits, H1 2016 revenues were up 19% to approximately £200m, with its flagship casino and Kambi-powered sportsbook both growing strongly. The firm has invested heavily in marketing 888sport in markets such as the UK, Spain, Italy and Denmark and is currently executing the casino cross-sell strategy as well as anyone.
The firm will have been disappointed to see a bill, which aimed to legalise online poker in California and simultaneously keep PokerStars on the side-lines for five years, derailed in September, with its US-facing business currently looking like an even longer-term play than first anticipated. Genuine hope that Pennsylvania could soon become the first US state to regulate in almost four years will give 888 some reason for optimism.
Yet Europe continues to provide 888’s best avenue for growth. The firm recently launched the multi-vertical 888.ro brand in Romania, there’s the soon-to-be regulated Dutch market entry to navigate, while the firm has plenty of market share to aim for in sportsbook. However, 888 is unlikely to shoot up these rankings next year unless it finally manages to shake off that bridesmaid tag.