888 Holdings PLC, () known commonly as 888, is a
public company
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...
which owns several popular
gambling
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...
brands and websites, including 888sport, 888casino and 888poker. 888 is based in
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
. It is listed on the
London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
and is a constituent of the
FTSE 250 Index
The FTSE 250 Index ( "Footsie") is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions and demotions to and from the index occur quarterly in March, June, Septemb ...
.
History
The business was founded in May 1997 by
Israeli
Israeli may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel
* Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel
* Modern Hebrew, a language
* ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008
* Guni Israeli ...
entrepreneurs Avi and Aaron Shaked and Shay and Ron Ben-Yitzhak, two sets of brothers, as ''Virtual Holdings Limited''. The company's first website, ''Casino-on-Net'' was launched at that time, and the administrative centre was established in
Antigua
Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...
. In 2002 ''Reef Club Casino'' and ''Pacific Poker'' followed. In 2003 its administrative center was moved to
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
.
It was first listed on the
London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
in 2005. Talk of listing began in mid-2005, as other private online gambling companies began to make the move to public ownership, 888 Holdings owned several subsidiaries and brands, which it began to bring under the singular "888.com" brand in early 2006.
Until 2006, 888 Holdings operated Pacific Poker in the US, before online gambling became illegal in that country. In late 2006
Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes Coral is a British gambling company founded in 1886. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. The business is split into two divisions, UK and International. UK operations are c ...
and 888.com announced merger discussions. However, in April 2007 the companies announced that due to recent changes of Tax laws in the UK and fears of legal actions by the US government, both parties had amicably agreed not to continue discussions. In March 2007 888 announced its acquisition of Bingo business of Globalcom Limited for up to $43.4 million in cash. In its first half-year, the company's bingo business earned $14 million in revenues.
888.com overtook the 4th place on the poker network list in April 2012 after almost having tripled their peak number of players from July 2010 to February 2012. In February, 2015, 888 Holdings confirmed it is in "advanced talks" over a reported US$1.47 billion (£750 million) takeover by William Hill. This prompted an 18 percent jump in its share price. The company operates under a
gaming licence
A gaming control board (GCB), also called by various names including gambling control board, casino control board, gambling board, and gaming commission, is a government agency charged with regulating casino and other types of gaming in a define ...
granted by the government of Gibraltar. Under the terms of the gaming licence 888 owns and operates a number of gaming sites (both for real money and educational sites). In 2014 888 Holdings turned down an offer to acquire the company for 700 million pounds. That year the company revenues began to increase due to mobile customers on its websites, and the company's sites had 17.8 million paying users.
In March 2018, 888 revealed that it had applied for a gaming licence in
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
, due to uncertainty over the
UK's exit from the European Union (Brexit) on Gibraltar, a
British Overseas Territory
The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...
.
On 2 May 2020, founder Shay Ben-Yitzhak died in an
ultralight
Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...
plane crash near
Yakum
Yakum ( he, יָקוּם, lit. "He (The People) shall rise") is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located in the central part of the Israeli coastal plain, about 30 km north of Tel Aviv, and only 5 km from the southern suburbs of Netanya, ...
,
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
at age 52. His 11-year-old son sustained minor injuries.
On 3 March 2021, 888 Holdings appointed
Lord Jonathan Mendelsohn as Chairman.
In May 2022, 888 announced that shareholders had approved the acquisition of international bookmakers
William Hill. 888 said the deal was scheduled to close in June 2022: the company will pay £1.95 billion: the acquisition includes all of William Hill's UK assets. The deal marked 888 Holdings’ entry into the retail sports betting market with a network of over 1,400 betting shops in the UK.
In May 2022, 888 announced the launch of its Sports Illustrated Sportsbook (SI Sportsbook) in Virginia. Following the launch of the SI Sportsbook in Colorado, in September 2021, the company plans on expanding the brand in more states within the year.
Players in the United States
On 2 October 2006, 888 Holdings announced that it had indefinitely suspended business with US customers in light of the passage of the
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) is United States legislation regulating online gambling. It was added as Title VIII to the SAFE Port Act (found at ) which otherwise regulated port security. The UIGEA prohibits gam ...
by the
US Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washingto ...
three days before.
On 14 August 2007, the
US Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
asked to recoup all profits made by the company in the US.
In 2015, as online gambling began to return to the United States, four of the five legal gambling websites were run by 888, including three in
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
and one in
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
. The company had first initiated its return to the US market in 2013, partnering with Avenue Capital Group to form the first US online poker network.
In 2018, 888 expanded its American online poker business by becoming the sole owner of the All American Poker Network.
Controversies and penalties
Shares in 888 Holdings fell by 8% after the company revealed it was under investigation by the
Gambling Commission
The Gambling Commission is an executive non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for regulating gambling and supervising gaming law in Great Britain. Its remit covers arcades, betting, bingo, casinos, ...
(UKGC) in May 2017. The company was fined a record £7.8 million in August 2017 after more than 7,000 customers were allowed to retain access to their betting accounts even after they decided to ban themselves.
Self-excluded players were allowed to place bets for 13 months before 888 Holdings was fined.
In March 2022 888 UK Ltd was fined £9.4 million by the UK
Gambling Commission
The Gambling Commission is an executive non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for regulating gambling and supervising gaming law in Great Britain. Its remit covers arcades, betting, bingo, casinos, ...
following an investigation which uncovered
anti-money laundering
Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdicti ...
(AML) and
social responsibility
Social responsibility is an ethical framework in which an individual is obligated to work and cooperate with other individuals and organizations for the benefit of the community that will inherit the world that individual leaves behind.
Social ...
failings.
Brands
888casino
888casino is an online gambling site operated by 888 Holdings.
It was founded in 1997 and is based in
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
. It is one of the Internet's oldest casinos.
In 2013 it became the first exclusively online casino to be licensed in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
888poker
''888poker'' is 888's online poker room, launched in July 2002.
888sport
''888sport'' is 888's
sports betting
Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. The frequency of sports bet upon varies by culture, with the vast majority of bets being placed on association football, American football, basket ...
brand. The online bookmaker was launched in March 2008. The site offers both horse track betting and sports betting, in addition to access to 888 Holdings' other sites. Sports leagues on which bets can be placed include those of Europe, North America, and elsewhere. This includes live betting, where bets can be placed on in-game action, in addition to pre-game bets. The brand is the title sponsor for the 888Sport Tingle Creek Chase, in addition to the 888Sport Magnolia Stakes. In 2010 888sport became the title sponsor of the Fontwell Park Racecourse, renaming it the 888sport Grand Stand. 888sport also works in social media surrounding sporting events, distributing content to its followers form other content sources, and has held online sports video competitions. In March 2019, 888 Holdings paid £15 million for Dublin-based Dedsert Ltd, which provided the sportsbook platform for UK-licensed bookmaker
BetBright
BetBright was a digital entertainment and online sports betting company based in Dublin and operating in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
As of 5 March 2019, Betbright ceased gambling operations on a permanent basis after the company was bough ...
. 888 CEO Itai Pazner said the acquisition "gives us the missing piece in our proprietary and technology portfolio".
Bingo brands
888 Holdings owns and operates several different
online bingo
Online bingo is the game of bingo ( US, UK) played on the Internet and its estimated launch was in 1996. It is estimated that the global gross gaming yield of bingo (excluding the United States) was US$500 million in 2006, and it is forecasted to ...
sites. They offer 90-ball and 75-ball bingo games, along with online
slot machine
A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...
games,
progressive jackpot
A progressive jackpot is a jackpot (a gambling grand prize or payout) which increases each time the game is played but the jackpot is ''not'' won. When the progressive jackpot is won, the jackpot for the next play is reset to a predetermined value ...
s, and
scratchcard
A scratchcard (also called a scratch off, scratch ticket, scratcher, scratchum, scratch-it, scratch game, scratch-and-win, instant game, instant lottery, scratchie, lot scrots, or scritchies) is a card designed for competitions, often made of ...
s. The games all run on a no
download
In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote s ...
required basis and have an emphasis on community and
chat room
The term chat room, or chatroom (and sometimes group chat; abbreviated as GC), is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology, ranging from ...
s. In December 2009, 888.com purchased brands including
Wink Bingo
Wink Bingo is an online bingo website launched in 2008. It is part of 888 Holdings, and is based and licensed in Gibraltar.
History
Wink Bingo launched in 2008 and under chief executive Eitan Boyd it grew to 60,000 active players within two ye ...
, Posh Bingo, Tasty Bingo, and RedBus Bingo from Daub. 888ladies.com is 888's online bingo room. The bingo site was launched in February 2008 after 888 acquired online bingo company Globalcom. 888ladies offers 75-ball, 90-ball and 5-line bingo games as well as instant games,
casino games and scratchcards. In January 2013, 888ladies.com launched a mobile app for
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
devices, and later for
Android devices. The site is known for running frequent competitions.
Wink Bingo
Wink Bingo is an online bingo website launched in 2008. It is part of 888 Holdings, and is based and licensed in Gibraltar.
History
Wink Bingo launched in 2008 and under chief executive Eitan Boyd it grew to 60,000 active players within two ye ...
launched in 2008 and is the biggest site in the Joy of Bingo network and the second largest 888 bingo site. 888's acquisition of the site was followed by a TV ad campaign that included projecting the Wink Bingo logo onto the
Houses of Parliament
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...
. Wink Bingo also runs frequent promotions and competitions. In January 2014, Wink launched The Breakfast Club competition, asking readers to photograph their meals and upload them to the Wink Bingo Facebook page for the chance to win
ASDA
Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...
vouchers. The competition received news coverage in ''
Hello! Magazine
''Hello!'' is a royalist weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news and human-interest stories, first published in the United Kingdom on May 21, 1988. It is the United Kingdom local edition of ''¡Hola!'', the Spanish weekly magazine.
Ed ...
'' and ''
Reading Chronicle
The ''Reading Chronicle'' is a weekly newspaper covering Reading in Berkshire, UK and surrounding areas, which began its life as the ''Berkshire Chronicle''. It is currently edited by Katie French, serving as group editor for its parent compa ...
''. Posh Bingo launched in September 2006 and underwent a major redesign in March 2012. The site has a fashion theme. Tasty Bingo launched in March 2010 and is themed around food. RedBus Bingo launched in April 2010 and has a London theme. Bingo Street launched in July 2011, and is based on a typical UK street, with rooms titled 'Bingo Supermarket' and 'Bingo Hall'.
Big Brother Bingo launched in January 2012 and is based on the
reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
show
Big Brother on
Channel 5. There are also standard cash prizes and polls on the housemates.
888bingo.com is the second online bingo site by 888, after 888ladies. It was formally launched in December 2009. It offers a selection of games including 75-ball and 90-ball bingo, team bingo, slots, instant games,
video poker
Video poker is a casino game based on five-card draw poker. It is played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine.
History
Video poker first became commercially viable when it became economical to combine a television-like moni ...
, and table games. 888's
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
app Bingo Appy launched in December 2012. offering bingo, casino and slots games via Facebook. It is now the only bingo app on Facebook to permit users to bet and win real money, with Bingo Friendzy's withdrawal. The app offers 75-ball and 90-ball bingo, instant games, scratchcards and freebie rooms. 888 had initially provided a 'freemium' or play-for-fun service on Facebook before the introduction of Bingo Appy.
Sports Illustrated Sportsbook
Sports illustrated Sportsbook is a brand that combines 888 and Sports illustrated and offers players sports betting offerings. The company combines sports offerings from 888 in addition to sports data from Sports illustrated and is currently live in the U.S. states of Colorado and Virginia.
Senior management and financial
Gigi Levy served as Chief Executive until 2011, he was paid an annual salary of $841,000 and an annual bonus of $1,007,000 in 2010.
In March 2012, Brian Mattingley was appointed as Chief Executive of 888 Holdings. In 2015 Mattingley left the position of CEO to assume the position of executive chairman of the board for 888 Holdings.
On 24 January 2019, 888 Holdings elevated Chief Operating Officer Itai Pazner, a 17-year company veteran, to Chief Executive Officer, replacing Itai Frieberger, who replaced Mattingley as CEO in 2015.
See also
*
Mytopia
Mytopia was an online games provider mostly popular on Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College st ...
References
External links
* Official website: corporate.888.com
888on
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
{{Authority control
Online gambling companies of Gibraltar
Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange
Gambling companies established in 1997
1997 establishments in Gibraltar