888 to launch own brand US casino

888 will launch its own-brand casino in New Jersey through a deal with Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE), the group announced after revealing record H1 revenues of US$200m.

The Gibraltar-based firm will use one of Caesars’ four casino licences to launch 888-branded casino and poker products in New Jersey through its All American Poker Network joint-venture with Trump Taj Mahal owner Avenue Capital.

888 CEO Brian Mattingley said the company had held talks to work with several other Atlantic City casinos, however its “strong relationship” with Caesars Entertainment meant it had a ready-made operating partner. A similar deal was struck in Nevada between 888 and the Las Vegas-based Treasure Island casino earlier this year.

CIE will use 888Poker software for its launch in Nevada and is also likely to widen that deal in New Jersey despite being in the process of building its own poker technology with French operator Barriere.

888 announced the deal in its H1 results that saw group revenue rise 7% to a record $200m, driven once more by strong growth in poker and casino.

Poker was up 13% year-on-year to $47m and casino also rose 13% to $94m for the six months ended June 30 with Q2 year-on-year growth of 14%.

Active poker customers in Q2 rose by 9% with yield up 3% to $55, while casino player numbers were flat but yield jumped 13% to $250 for the quarter.

“The group has enjoyed excellent growth, particularly in casino where a combination of strong results in Spain and Italy and very successful marketing campaigns have driven up revenue in Q2 by 14% year on year,” Mattingley said.

Bingo, however, continued to be a black spot with a 14% quarter-on-quarter drop in revenues pushing H1 revenues down 18% year-on-year to $22m.

The fall in bingo revenues came despite 888 saying it had turned a corner in its last quarterly results, and the firm said bingo was “continuing to be a challenging and competitive market”.