Online gaming and entertainment solutions firm 888 has signed three multi-year market access agreements this week to launch in the US states of Colorado, Indiana and Iowa initially with the 888Sport brand during 2021.

In Colorado, the company will launch under the license of the Colorado Grande Casino based in Cripple Creek. In Iowa, it will launch under the license of Catfish Bend Casinos II LLC. In Indiana, the Group has signed an agreement with Harrah’s Hoosier Park, which is owned by Caesars Entertainment, to launch 888Sport in the state. 

These three agreements, said 888, represent the latest milestones in its growth strategy in the developing US online gaming market and will increase the number of states where 888 has a presence to six.

CEO Itai Pazner commented: “We are delighted to sign these agreements with three great partners – the Colorado Grande Casino, Catfish Bend Casino II LLC, and Harrah’s Hoosier Park – that will enable 888 to bring its first-class online sportsbook to bettors in Colorado, Iowa and Indiana. The US online betting and gaming market has huge growth potential, and we continue to build a strong platform for growth across both our B2B and B2C operations.”

Yaniv Sherman, SVP Head of Commercial Development, added: “Expanding 888Sport.com into these three states represents another major milestone in our ongoing growth across the regulated US online gaming market. We have deployed our proprietary technology in the US, and our exciting pipeline of new products will deliver industry-leading propositions to customers across both our B2B and B2C operations. 

“We continue to appraise strategic partnerships that will provide additional brand-building and market access opportunities for 888 across the US market in the near future.”

In addition to news of the three state agreements, the company has also issued a trading update citing continued strong operational performance during the second half of the financial year.

The performance, it noted, reflects the group’s high levels of customer acquisition during 2019 and 2020; the benefit from the ongoing structural shift in consumer behavior towards online services; significant new product roll-outs; and increased vigilance on safe gambling and player protection.

As a result, the Board expects that revenue and adjusted EBITDA for the full year will be ahead of its prior expectations. Revenue is expected to be approximately 45% ahead of 2019. The adjusted EBITDA margin for the period is expected to be approximately 18.5%, consistent with the margin achieved in the first half of the year.

Considering the new gaming regulations that came into effect in Germany in October and the Group’s plans to increase levels of investment in the US market in the year ahead, the Board’s expectations for 2021 remain unchanged. The group intends to provide a post-close trading update in respect of its financial year ended December 31 2020 in January 2021.