888's Poker Woes Extend into 2019--But the Worst Might be Over 888's Poker Woes Extend into 2019--But the Worst Might be Over
Key Takeaways
  • Overall, 888 boasted of 6% growth across the whole business, thanks largely to double-digit gains in sports.
  • It pointed to sequential growth as a sign that even poker could reverse the trend of the last 18 months.
  • A decline of 28% in the first four and a half months of this year at least shows that this dramatic decline in revenues from 2018 may be subsiding.

In a trading update issued this week, 888 Holdings reported that online poker revenue declined 28% year-over-year on a constant currency basis during the first four and a half months of the year.

This extends 888poker’s plummeting online poker revenue reported throughout 2018.

Overall, 888 boasted of 6% growth across the whole business, thanks largely to double-digit gains in sports and the launch of a new Orbit Casino driving customer acquisition and boosting casino revenue.

Bingo was flat; the “challenging” poker vertical remained the only real black mark. But it pointed to sequential growth as a sign that even poker could reverse the trend of the last 18 months.