Last year, in July, some buzz started when FS Gaming - an investment group that Kenny Alexander, the ex-big gun at Entain, was part of - got their hands on some shares of 888.
When FS Gaming bought up 6.57% of 888, they had a game plan to have a threesome of ex-Entain leaders to run the show at 888. This got the Gambling Commissions antennas up, and they jumped into an investigation. Discover the convenient Casinos that are licensed to operate.
888s UK Future Hung by a Thread
Alexander had his eyes on the CEO spot, his buddy Lee Feldman was gunning for the chairmans seat, and Stephen Morana had his sights set on the money-man role as CFO. If this power shift happened, FS Gamings slice of 888 wouldve grown to over 10%, a big enough piece to need a thumbs up from the Commission. The Commission could have shut down 888s show in the UK if they didnt dig this new setup.
But then 888 dropped the mic on the whole deal with FS Gaming because they figured the Commission wouldnt be cool with it. They didnt want to gamble with their UK licenses, so they called it quits on the chat. Just today, 888 came out saying the Commission isnt going to stir up any trouble for them. Best casinos with UK licenses at thegambledoctor.com.
888 breathed a sigh of relief, saying the Commission wrapped up their poking around and decided not to slap any conditions, fines, or other headaches on them after being convinced that any worries about the gambling rules being broken were taken care of.
The Commission backed this up, saying they got the memo from 888 that the management shakeup was off the table, and theyve been off it for a while. With some extra promises about whos running the shop at 888, the Commission felt there was no need to drop any verdicts or dig into whether the new faces were up to snuff. So, they dropped the investigation and 888 got off scot-free.
The Commissions Eyebrow-Raising Concerns
The whole drama started because of some shady stuff going on with GVC (now known as Entain) and some business they had in Turkey.
Back then, 888 said that FS Gaming wasnt giving the kind of solid promises that would make the Commission stop worrying. Thats why the Commission kicked off their probe under the Gambling Act.
Since then, the dust has settled with the HMRCs beef with GVC, and Entain coughed up a hefty sum - were talking a 585.0 million fine, a 20.0 million charity donation, and 10.0 million for CPS and HMRCs troubles.
888 didnt say if Entains settling up with the law had anything to do with the Commission deciding to chill out and not take action after their snooping around.
The Turkish Wrinkle in GVCs Past
The Turkey situations done and dusted, with Entain swallowing the costs which made a big dent in their 2023 dough, leaving them down by a whopping 936.5 million.
The Scandal Involving Turkey
There was a bit of drama about some old shady stuff that might have happened with Entain. It seems like some ex-workers and third-party folks who arent around anymore could have been up to no good. The law they might have broken is from the Bribery Act that came out in 2010.
When 888 was thinking about all the stuff that could go wrong because of this mess, they really dug into what had been talked about before. They looked into chats from the past between William Hill and GVC. These two had teamed up back in 2012 when they decided to buy Sportingbet.
As part of the deal, William Hill grabbed the Australian side of the business and also got a deal set up for Sportingbets business in Spain. GVC was left holding the reins of everything else, including what was going on in Turkey.
The part of the company that was working in Turkey, called Headlong Limited, got sold to a company named Ropso Malta in 2017, for 150m. They decided to let go of some money they were supposed to get later just to make the sale happen faster and avoid any trouble with the rules. GVC, now with a new name, claimed they stopped getting any cash from the Turkey biz by July 2019.
But then, in 2020, HMRC started snooping around for any "potential corporate offending," which made a small investigation into the money being let go in 2019 even bigger. This all went down right after the top guy at GVC, Alexander, quit out of the blue.
Whats 888 Going to Do Now?
888 must be feeling a bit better now as theyre trying to get back on their feet after a tough time. Theyre waiting on their new boss, Per Widerstrm, to show them a new plan any day now.
They just told everyone in January that they made 8% less money in 2023, bringing in 1.71bn. Theyre going to give everyone the full scoop on their money situation next week.
Meanwhile, 888 is saying goodbye to some people to switch things up with their team. They told iGB that its all part of their master plan for the future, but they didnt spill the beans on which jobs are getting cut.
Is 888 Calling It Quits in the US?
Lately, 888s been thinking really hard about what to do with their US business that deals directly with customers. Theyre saying they might sell it, either in pieces or the whole thing.
Theyre also open to just stepping out of the US customer market in a calm way and maybe doing some other big moves. They promised this thinking session wont mess with the deals they already have in the US for business-to-business stuff.
They havent said when theyll decide what to do. But theyll probably tell their investors whats up when they talk about their yearly money details next week.
Along the same lines, theyve decided to stop working with Authentic Brands Group (ABG) and are going to pay up to $50m in two parts to walk away. This deal with ABG was all about running sportsbooks and online casinos with the Sports Illustrated name on them. You can search on the best 5-star casinos as well.
