888’s 2016: casino and sports good, poker and bingo bad

UK-listed online gambling operator 888 Holdings posted double-digit gains in 2016 thanks to its surging casino and sports betting verticals.

Figures released Tuesday show 888’s overall 2016 revenue hitting an all-time high of $520.8m, a 13% improvement over 2015’s total, while earnings improved 12% to $90.2m. The figures were even more impressive in constant currency terms, with revenue up 18% and earnings jumping 24%.

888’s mainstay casino product continued to bring home the bacon, improving 21% to $279.3m, while its Kambi Sports Solutions-powered sportsbook jumped 49% to $51.9m. Both verticals benefited from a 22% rise in marketing spend, which as a share of revenue was up three points to nearly 33%. 888’s new casino brand, 777.com, which launched at the end of 2015, was said to be “performing well.”

Things weren’t so bright at 888’s poker operations, which saw revenue fall 3% to $84.4m. 888 said the sagging poker division nevertheless “outperformed” the global poker market and noted that first-time depositors rose 6%, although this latter figure was dwarfed by first-time casino (23%) and sports (52%) depositors.