The company, based in London, said this morning that it recently launched a raft of new service and was "keen to buy" other Internet gambling sites.
Pre-tax profits were up nearly 35% at $90.5 million last year, compared with $67.4 million in 2005. This was despite 888 being forced to stop its activities in America in October 2006 when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed, stealthily, during the night by renegade Republicans.
The law stopped firms from taking Internet wagers, and banned banks and credit card firms from processing Internet payments. The radical measure was deemed illegal last month by the World Trade Organization, as some domestic activities, including horse-racing, are exempt. A leading Democratic congressman last week introduced a bill to repeal the ban.
Temporary Setback
To cope with the temporary set-back, the company is expanding its worldwide operations. This year, 888 has launched several new online offerings including "Blackjack in Poker" and "Crazy Blackjack".
"We are confident that these initiatives together with the release of our all new home-grown Backgammon, coupled with the bingo acquisition, will deliver further growth," said Richard Kilsby, chairman of 888 Holdings.
Chief executive officer Gigi Levy added that revenue from its worldwide operations had grown 16% so far this year. "We are constantly looking for additional opportunities to enhance our strong organic growth with selective acquisitions," said Levy. “We will definitely be looking to grow with acquisitions and not just organically."
Until last month the group was in long-running takeover talks with Ladbrokes, the London-based bookmakers.
Stock market analysts had expected pre-tax profits of between $58 million and $76 million for the years ending December 31. Shares in the group rose by nearly 5% in morning deals valuing the company at about £425 million.
Since last year's legislation in the U.S., the company has targeted online bingo, through the $32 million acquisition of privately-owned Globalcom's bingo division, a deal was designed to attract female customers less likely to play games such as poker and blackjack
Internet gaming revenues rose 7 % to $290 million, including a 28 % rise in net gaming revenues from continuing operations to $157 million from $123 million in the same period a year ago.
Net gaming revenues for the first quarter of this year grew by 16 %, on the final quarter of 2006, boosted by the rollout of new games, and executives expected future growth to be boosted by the online bingo acquisition.
Said Levy: “Given this start to 2007, the release of new products, our bingo acquisition and our clear business strategy, we are confident of delivering future growth in 2007.”
Congressman Barney Frank, who recently described the Internet gambling ban as one of the “stupidest laws” ever passed, last week proposed the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act 2007 to establish a regulatory framework for the licensing of operators to accept bets and wagers.
Rep. Frank said: “The existing legislation is an inappropriate interference on the personal freedom of Americans and this interference should be undone.”
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