Revenue buoyed by sports as gamers place fewer bets on 888 post-lockdown
Online betting and gaming group 888 posted solid revenue growth this morning, buoyed by match starved sports fans looking for their sporting fix online, the group said.
However, since UK retail and leisure venues reopened on 17 May, average daily revenues have been around 20 per cent lower than the year-to-date period from January to 16 May.
Its customer revenue lifted 11 per cent to $247m in the three months to 30 June, up from $204m in the same period last year.
Shares sank 4.9 per cent in 888’s afternoon trading, taking its share price to 392p per share.
The 11 per cent year-on-year lift was led by its casino and sports offerings, the group said, which has pushed 888 to doubled down on its sports division.
Poker and bingo revenues tumbled lower than the year prior, despite the games having “exceptionally strong performance” amid stricter lockdown measures in the UK and Europe.
“In addition to strong trading across our core European markets, we made significant strategic progress during the period in the attractive US market, where we announced a long-term strategic partnership with Sports Illustrated,” CEO Itai Pazner said.
While the second quarter of the year was slightly ahead of board expectations, the group said it “remains mindful” of the impacts of summer without Covid-19 restrictions for retail and leisure markets for the second half of the year.