888 to revisit Denmark ambition
Operator set to re-apply for Danish licence as its begins regulated Europe push following US success
Gibraltar-licensed 888 is leaning towards reapplying for a remote Danish licence as the operator sharpens its focus on the regulated markets of Europe, eGaming Review can reveal.
The operator, which was last year consumed by launches into the three regulated US states, may resubmit a licence application to Denmark’s regulating body, the Danish Gaming Authority (DGA), little more than 12 months after its previous permit expired.
The regulator awarded four-year licence extensions to 25 operators in January 2013, however, 888 was a surprise omission from the list having been active in the country up until that point.
888’s renewed interest in Denmark follows on from the operator’s planned move into the Spain’s sports betting market after it secured a licence through its recent deal with local gaming firm Nervion Group, while it is also one of the 41 operators involved in current the German licensing process.
In addition, the operator is planning to expand its Italy-facing offering beyond casino and 888 CEO Brian Mattingley told eGaming Review all regulated jurisdictions are kept under constant review.
“We consider all jurisdictions and we have a team in our Israel office which watches regulation all the time and we have our legal counsel who’ll go through what regulation means and whether it’s commercially viable to do it,” Mattingly said.
“I know for a fact we haven’t got a licence in Denmark and we are looking at that now “ we had to put that to a certain extent on hold as we were moving forward in the US. I think we will resurrect that again as I think that’s quite a healthy market,” he added.
888, which won a trio of awards at last year’s eGR Operator of the Year Awards, last week announced a 10% growth in Q4 revenues to US$107m, helping boost 2013 full-year revenues to $401m, a 7% increase on 2012.