William Hill owner 888 Holdings revenues down 7% as player safety rules kick in
Improved safety measures in online gambling in the UK have knocked betting company 888’s revenue by 7% in the last three months, the company has revealed.
The Gambling Commission introduced a raft of new measures last summer, including the introduction of limits on spin speeds, and the permanent ban on features that speed up play or celebrate losses as wins.
As a result, the average spend per player for 888’s UK online customers was down 14% year-on-year, it said.
This reduced the amount the company made via its online channels in the UK by 13% to £171 million for the three months to the end of September. Total revenue for the whole group was down 7%, at £449 million, in the same period.
The overall revenue was also impacted by the closure of 888’s Dutch business during the year.
Elsewhere, 888’s revenue from its William Hill retail shops remained stable despite a number of sports fixtures being cancelled or postponed following the death of the Queen. This cost the business around £4 million, it said.
888 completed the takeover of rival William Hill’s non-US business for £1.95 billion in July, effectively tripling the size of the company.
Itai Pazner, CEO of 888, said that the team had made “rapid progress” in integrating the new business and that it was progressing towards a new operating model.
“We are changing the mix of our business to a lower spending, more recreational player base that gives us confidence in the long-term potential for our UK business,” he said.
“As we look forward, we remain focused primarily on successful integration, execution and de-leveraging in order to unlock the huge potential from our enlarged business.”
Despite what the company called a “changing macroeconomic environment”, it said it expects its revenues in the next quarter to be similar to last year.
Shares in the company fell around 6% on Tuesday morning.
