Coronavirus: 888 reports rise in online casino and poker, sports betting fall
888 Holdings has reported a rise in casino and poker activity due to the coronavirus outbreak, though it warned further delays to the sporting calendar will damage its sports betting vertical.
In its trading update, the operator stated the group has traded above expectations, with current year-to-date average daily revenue up 18% year-on-year, up to 18 March.
While customer activity has risen in casino and poker products, however, the operator warned the impact on group EBITDA for the financial year will be just less than $10m if global sporting events continue to be disrupted until September; sports betting accounted for 16% of overall revenue for 2019.
Performance so far in 2020 had been down to progress in the group’s casino and sport betting verticals, both recording a daily revenue increase of 24% from 2019.
Additionally, new customer acquisition across B2C business had shown a 20% increase.
888 published its trading update after announcing a delay to publishing full-year results for 2019, following a request from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for all businesses to observe a minimum two-week postponement, due to the coronavirus.
The virus, which has caused more than 16,000 worldwide deaths, has seen the delay of major sporting events, such as the English Premier League and UEFA European Football Championships.
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