888 Promises Online Poker Investment as Revenues Plummet 888 Promises Online Poker Investment as Revenues Plummet
Key Takeaways
  • The blame was put squarely on market exits—primarily Australia—although the company withdrew in January 2017, so most of H1 2018 has already lapped this impact.
  • Due to the decline, online poker has slipped from its spot as the group’s second largest online gaming vertical.
  • Looking forward, the company said it is developing “Poker 8,” apparently an all-new and improved “cross-territory” poker platform.

Global online gaming giant 888 Holdings said on Thursday that it is committed to growing its online poker vertical and investing in the platform after reporting its worst online poker performance in years.

During the first half of 2018, the company reported $30.6 million in online poker revenue. Not only is it the lowest half-year since at least 2012, with 28% decline year-over-year, it is the worst performance in recent history.

“Poker experienced a challenging first half,” it was stated in Thursday’s financial report. The blame was put squarely on market exits—primarily Australia—although the company withdrew in January 2017, so most of H1 2018 has already lapped this impact.

The company also blamed “the continued challenges of the overall poker market” and “the negative impact of the FIFA World Cup at the end of the period.”