888 Revamps Expansion Strategy for the US Market

The leading global gambling company, 888 Holdings, held its Capital Markets Day (CMD) earlier this week. The company discussed an extensive list of topics during the event, among which, was its further growth into the regulated gambling markets in the United States.

888 Holdings Updates US Expansion Strategy

A key message delivered during the CMD event was the change in 888’s strategy for the US market, a transcript released by Market Screener reveals. The company’s chief strategy officer, Vaughan Lewis, revealed that while the US holds significant growth opportunities, the market also stands out with high competitiveness. 888’s chief strategy officer added that after operating for more than a year within sports betting markets in the US via its Sports Illustrated Sportsbook brand, the company was able to identify new opportunities for market capitalization.

He explained that the company’s revamped strategy deviates from the original plan which was to establish “a nationwide sports-led operation in 12 to 15 states.” Lewis pointed out that the company faced intense competition within the sports betting vertical and acknowledged that it will be difficult to compete against the top 4 brands and deliver sustainable success without changing its plan.

“It’s become clear to us that the intense competition in sports betting and the dominance of the top 4 brands means that it will be very difficult to deliver positive returns without evolving our plan.“

Vaughan Lewis, chief strategy officer at 888

Older Male Demographic Brings More Profits than Young Adults

Upon evaluating the competitiveness of the company, 888 decided to upgrade its strategy and label it an “evolve plan.” With the plan, also referred to as “Betting 2.0,” the company is after expanding its presence while targeting a specific demographic. 888 identified that the older male demographic holds significant potential when compared to the younger audiences.

“So this is all about bringing Sports Illustrated to our players, news and content and then really focusing on being laser-focused on a key cohort of the older male demographic,“

added Lewis

In that line of thought, Lewis explained the older male demographic “spend 4 to 6x more than the ultra-competitive younger demographics, and they love casino.” He added that those players enjoy casino and betting while at the same time having enough funds to spend on gambling, which makes them the perfect target audience.

Besides the key target audience, Lewis pointed out that the iGaming market in the US holds even bigger potential than the sports betting vertical. He said that online gambling is available in six states but the market is nearly as big as the 22 states that offer sports betting. This potential of the iGaming segment, according to Lewis, creates further growth opportunities for 888casino.