888 Holdings, the parent company of 888 Casino, 888 Poker and 888sport, which is part of the NJ sports betting online market, announced that they acquired Irish online sports betting operator, BetBright, for $19.9 million in early March. BetBright closed its operations shortly after the acquisition. The integration of BetBright's features into the 888 Sportsbook app gives 888sport multiple features to service its customers, including online sports betting, online casino, online poker and online bingo.
888sport's BetBright Acquisition May Be Key As US Sports Betting Market Expands
888sport immediately began to look to integrate the technology it acquired from BetBright into its 888 Sportsbook app, as well as other parts of 888 Holdings. Once the integration is complete, 888 Sport is looking to roll out BetBright technology as soon as possible. Since 888sport has a presence in the NJ online sports betting market, as well as operations in Nevada and Delaware, the technological advances could prove to be far-reaching. Possibly even more so as other states are ready to launch legal online sports betting in the US, such as PA sports betting and WV sports betting. 888sport made its debut in New Jersey on Sept. 2018 with the 888sport app, alongside 888casino and 888 Poker. This was established under the Kambi umbrella of sports betting, and while 888sport is expected to continue to partner with Kambi, its presence will be needed less with the BetBright acquisition. Kambi also runs the following sportsbooks in the United States:
In addition to using the BetBright technology to continue to penetrate the US online sports betting market as legalization continues, 888 Sport has a sponsorship deal with the New York Jets, allowing for further expansion as a "name brand" for NFL sports betting.
888 Holdings Made Three Acquisitions To Expand Its Brand In The US
In addition to their big push for US sports betting expansion with the BetBright deal, 888 Holdings has used two other acquisitions to further its foothold in the sports betting and online casino market. In February, the company purchased JPJ Group's Mandalay business that includes a spread of bingo assets. This came after its deal in Dec. 2018 to buy out the remaining 53 percent stake in the All American Poker Network. These three acquisitions give 888 significant growth opportunities in the US online gaming market according to 888 CEO Itai Pazner, and also continues to create value for shareholders.
