Q&A: Itai Pazner, SVP and head of B2C division, 888
Itai Pazner, head of 888's B2C division, talks to eGaming Review about the operator's stellar year and its expansion into newly regulated markets
eGaming Review (eGR): What do you think has been key to 888’s success in 2013?
Itai Pazner (IP): We had a very strong year in casino and poker, each one with their different strategy, in regulated markets this year. We managed to succeed in our core business which has been a continuous trend over the last few years.
We invested heavily over the last year on the product development side and made the shift to mobile in time with regards to the market changing. Since then we have ridden on the mobile trend on both the product side and the marketing side, adapting the platform, the web pages and the promotions.
eGR: How important to this success has focussing on the recreational poker market been?
IP: This has been a successful strategy for us as we have outperformed the market a few years in a row as the global poker market has been shrinking.
One of the problems of the global poker trend is that a lot of players are finding it difficult and frustrating going into the big poker rooms and losing money quickly “ what we’re trying to do is offer a much easier playing environment in terms of usability and providing a playing field that’s more relevant to them.
When you combine tangible prizes with poker cams you get a great social-type poker experience. It took us time to adapt to that strategy but we’re following it through and can see the results.
eGR: Has 888 exceeded its performance expectations with regards to its operations in Spain?
IP: Spain is a market which operates separately. So in terms of poker it’s separate liquidity and with casino it’s also a separate and more limited product, but it’s going very well for us.
Between the two verticals we have around 20% market share “ a figure which has been quite stable since the market opened. Our ambition is always to grow market share but I think somewhere between 20% and 25% market share in any big European market is a good place to be in considering the big local and global competitors in there. I obviously wish that we had 20% to 25% across the board, that would be great.
eGR: But the UK market still remains your core focus?
IP: The UK is our biggest market globally and is a market that we have a leadership in through our casino, poker and bingo products. It’s always going to be in the centre of our focus and we are obviously preparing for the Point of Consumption (PoC) tax in 2014 which is something that we’re going to take on this year.
eGR: What preparations are you making for the PoC tax?
IP: It’s going to work similarly to the other regulated markets where we pay a tax on GGR. It’s all about adapting the marketing mix, adapting the cost per acquisition and bonuses. These are things that we are very familiar with from the other regulated markets we operate in and we’re going to adapt in the UK as well when it comes.
eGR: With the New Jersey market having just opened up, how important is the US going to be for 888?
IP: It’s taking up a lot of our time but it’s very important. From a product perspective there is a big infrastructure project which we have undertaken in the last year and a half to prepare for the US, and also on the marketing side which we have put together a strong dedicated team.
In other news:
888 in major sportsbook advertising push
888 and Paddy Power revamp bingo products