888 Holdings is kicking off the year on a high after announcing its plans to expand its partnership with Caesars Entertainment. 2020 may have been one for the books in the burgeoning sports betting scene in the country. And 888 Holdings is doing all it can to build upon the momentum it created last year as we’ve covered here despite the setbacks it endured.
888 Holdings has been focused on its expansion in the US sports market following its growth in the UK. Its move to appraise its partnership with Caesars Entertainment will go a long way in helping the well-reviewed gambling firm’s continued expansions, as well as its long-term prospects in the regulated market in the country.
Amid last year’s prolonged period of global and financial uncertainty, 888 Holdings, which provides the technology for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) online had a somewhat successful year. The record-setting tournaments organized last year for the WSOP online circuit will likely continue to be a huge hit this year as more and more individuals get interested in real money online poker.
Under this extended partnership with Caesars, 888 Holdings will keep running the WSOP online platform while also working on developing new and enhanced mobile poker rooms aimed at improving the overall player experience. Both companies are going to benefit immensely from this partnership.
Caesars needs 888 Holding’s years of experience and technological muscle as it looks to develop its online presence in the country even further. This agreement will also open doors for 888 to expand into new US markets such as Pennsylvania. WSOP already has a strong presence in Pennsylvania thus allowing 888 to gain entry.
In this symbiotic relationship, WSOP will provide 888 with the market base in the country while 888 will offer Caesars the best software for online poker. This extended relationship will also see the launch of the Poker 8 platform, which is the next-generation platform. The Poker 8 platform is already available in Europe as of November 2020.
$1025
Welcome Package
$25 free bonus + deposit match, first deposit up to $500.
$600
Welcome Package
* New customers only. 100% match bonus based
on first deposit of up yo $600.
$500
Welcome Package
* New customers only. 100% match bonus based
on first deposit of up to $500.
Poker 8 relies on high-quality software to enhance the user experience through better graphics, animations, and a series of other important features such as multi-day tournaments. The new software will also improve high definition images and make the gameplay slicker than before while making the entire system a lot easier to navigate.
Last year, following increased restrictions in Germany’s online gambling market, 888 Holdings made the bold move to concentrate on rapidly expanding its presence in the US. By the end of the year, 888 had already successfully secured market access deals with 3 states including Iowa, Indiana, and Colorado, which are all scheduled to legalize the sports betting market this year.
In Colorado, 888 has partnered up with the Colorado Grande Casino in Cripple Creek. In Iowa, it has Catfish Bend Casinos as its local partner. in Indiana, 888 Holdings opted to leverage its already strong relationship with casino operator Caesars, thus allowing it to piggyback on Caesars owned Harrah’s Hoosier Park casino. The more products that 888 Holdings can offer in the US marketplace, the better positioned it will be to complete with some of the other more established operators and brands.
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What allows 888 Holdings to stand out?
Like many other operators, the company’s trend to integrate its sports wagering into its already existing online poker and casino game platforms will help it secure more customers. This integrated system allows punters to take part using one login and bankroll making things more convenient than they have been in the past.
The company is relying on technology supplied by Kambi Group to make the integration a reality. Kambi Group is a Malta-based B2B provider of sports wagering services to licensed gaming operators like 888 and Caesars. Apart from 888 Holdings, Kambi also supports other well-known sportsbooks the likes of DraftKings and PlaySugarHouse.
Apart from sports betting, 888 also added new games to its New Jersey casino offering including Live Dealer games. The 888 poker platform allows online punters in the 3 regulated states namely New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware to compete against one another. Now that 888 Holdings has its sports casino and poker products available under one platform, it will be able to continually improve on its offerings thus making it better positioned than it already is.
888 also did an excellent job of proving its resilience last year. After the pandemic interrupted the World Series of Poker, WSOP moved operations online in a hybrid virtual and in-person format. This quick-fix made 888 a crucial asset in the WSOP’s arsenal. Because the pandemic is still ravaging the country, the hybrid WSOP format that was created last year is likely to remain throughout the year.
As more and more states consider legalizing sports betting, 888 Holdings and other well-positioned operators will continue to thrive. In the end, it is the customers that stand to benefit the most because they will have even more array to choose from than they already do.
$1025
Welcome Package
$25 free bonus + deposit match, first deposit up to $500.
$600
Welcome Package
* New customers only. 100% match bonus based
on first deposit of up yo $600.
$500
Welcome Package
* New customers only. 100% match bonus based
on first deposit of up to $500.
Final Thoughts
Caesars and 888 have been locked in a vibrant partnership since 2013 and this extension should allow the partnership to thrive for years to come. As WSOP continues making good on its promise to add new states to the current interstate poker network this year and beyond, it is clear that both organizations stand to benefit immensely.
As 888 prepared to gain entry in Colorado and Indiana, which stand as some of the biggest revenue generators in the legal gambling sector, things will only get better from here. Iowa is also quite the big fish in the gambling space, which should help turn 888 Holding’s fortunes even further.
Even though 888 is not as recognizable in the American sports betting industry, its partnership with Caesars will help it get to where it needs to be. The great thing is that it’s already off to an excellent start.
