888 Completes BetBright Acquisition, Begins Assimilation

Irish sports betting company, BetBright, has shut down operations under its own brand, assimilated fully by British counterpart 888 Holdings.

888 Acquires BetBright in Full

The king is dead. Long live the king.

This is what happened with Irish sports betting operator BetBright on Monday when 888 Holdings paid $19.8 million to buy up the entire offer of the company. The acquisition is part of 888 Holdings’ growth strategy which focuses on the United States, similarly to William Hill.

888 isn’t just about size. The company has plucked some of the most valuable assets BetBright used to own, including their risk management, product and trading platform. In the end, 888 is looking at a substantial acquisition of a well-developed sportsbook ecosystem.

888 CEO Itai Pazner highlighted the synergies and benefits for his own company by adding BetBright’s product:

It gives the group the missing piece in our proprietary product and technology portfolio and will enable 888 to own proprietary, end-to-end solutions across the four major online gaming verticals.

The company has been expanding at a good clip, though it has mostly relied on third-parties to assist it with its sports betting offer. By adding BetBright’s fully-developed platform, 888 has a chance to do what it does best – build a solid offer based on in-house, proprietor platform.

BetBright’s Business Model Has Failed

BetBright has managed to build an offer that has caught the eye of 888 Holdings, but this might have to do with the fact that the company invested £60 million since it was founded back in 2013. Conversely, the fact that it was only sold for a quarter of that amount signals an inability to develop the business in earnest.

BetBright struggled with the constantly changing legal context at home and in the United Kingdom, leaving itself vulnerable to sudden changes.

UK analytic firm Regulus Partners has highlighted the upsides of 888’s owing a proprietor sports betting platform as a strategic move ahead of a broader expansion in the United States. Currently, 888 offers wagering options in New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware, but the company wants to expand in a toughening legal climate at home.

888 to Roll out BetBright Soon

BetBright will become a part of 888’s offer very soon, with the company planning to implement the Irish sportsbook’s technology “soon”. There will be some compatibility issues to be solved first, as is often the case between two large companies running on a different software.

888 is the only sportsbook to be present in all three big sports betting states in the USA, although DraftKings and William Hill are now expanding rapidly at a pace that prompts 888 to act quickly itself.