888 Holdings "has held out the prospect of acquisitions" as the betting group announced half-year results on Tuesday, "although a penalty for failing to help vulnerable customers contributed to its swing to a loss," according to David Keohane of the FINANCIAL TIMES. In the six months to June 30, 888 boosted revenues 3% to $270.1M compared with the same period last year, "slightly shy of analyst expectations" of a $270.6M increase. On a constant currency basis, revenue increased 9% over the period. EBITDA rose 8% to $47.6M, "just ahead of expectations," while 888 also announced an interim dividend of 4 cents per share. 888 CEO Itai Frieberger said, "This pleasing outcome was driven by continued growth in 888's core casino vertical, strong momentum in the fast-growing 888 Sport and a good performance in poker." The company was hit last week with a record £7.8M ($10.2M) fine for failings "in the way it handled thousands of customers who had sought to restrict their own access to betting" (FT, 9/5). In London, Dominic Walsh reported Frieberger said that the £7.8M penalty imposed on 888 last week and "recent cases involving rivals such as Gala Coral, Betfred and Paddy Power had been bad for the industry." He said, "The industry needs to learn. I hope that the other operators that got into trouble with the commission, as we did, took the time and effort and put in the resources to enable them to become better operators because it doesn't put us in a good place. The industry needs to work on its reputation" (LONDON TIMES, 9/5).
