888 revenue drops to $493.9M in Q3 despite strong customer engagement, underlying retail performance

Online betting and gaming company 888 Holdings announced on Wednesday its revenue decreased 10% in the third quarter to £405 million ($493.9 million) from £449.4 million ($548 million) the prior year, despite continued strong customer engagement and underlying trading. 

Moreover, the Gibraltar-based betting operator said U.K. and Ireland online revenue fell 10%, driven by the continuing impact of safer gambling changes and a "refined marketing approach," coupled with lower betting net win margin from customer-friendly sports results in September.

The company's digital business saw strong customer engagement with average monthly actives (players who wagered real money during the period) rising 17% despite a fall of international average monthly actives by 2% and revenue falling 19% due to the ongoing impact of compliance changes in dotcom markets, particularly in the Middle East.

Despite the overall drop, the London-listed company said its retail division gave a strong underlying performance, mainly thanks to its improved product offering.

Per Widerström, 888 Holdings' new CEO, said: "This is a business with a very strong foundation for profitable growth. But there are also several areas for improvement which we will focus on to unlock our full potential and drive value creation."

The company, which operates 888casino, 888poker, and 888sport among other brands, maintained its expectations of a mid-single digit revenue decrease in the fourth quarter, and an 18% to 19% adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization margin for 2023.

The company also said that its business in Israel isn't experiencing any "significant impact" despite the continuing conflict in the region, where it has around 500 employees. 888 Holdings shares were down 2.8% at 83.35 pence in London on Wednesday.