888 Preparing B2C Play

British gaming giant 888 is in, “advanced talks” regarding a potentially large B2C (business to consumer) deal, according to a report in EGR Magazine. Details of the proposed venture will be announced some time in early March.
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888 Grabs US
888 is quickly grabbing the lead in the race to nail down the emerging, legalized, American market. They’ve been working closely with Caesars Interactive Entertainment to nail down a strategy for taking the “pole position” if/when online poker is legalized. And every indication is that they’ve got a shot at doing just that.
Earlier this week this week the company extended its licensing deal with Caesars. The companies are already running live poker sites in the UK through 888’s B2B division Dragonfish and have been sine 2009. Presumably, that would be the platform on which an American Caesars poker product would be based.
Big Week Continues
Whatever 888’s big announcement is, there’s a good chance that it will be profitable.  According to their 2011 earnings report released earlier this week, 888’s $61 million in poker revenues were up a whopping 58 percent over 2010. Those numbers helped boost the company’s overall revenues to $331 million, a 26 percent jump over the previous year. That’s pretty impressive for a year when the poker industry took some serious hits.
More Details
As of this writing there just aren’t a lot of details available about 888’s big announcement. An American-based venture with Caesars seems like a real possibility and could qualify as a B2C venture. But even though 888 has applied for a Nevada gaming license, online poker isn’t legal yet in Nevada or anywhere else in the US. Still, there’s nothing stopping two companies from developing a business plan based on potential legalization.
Events in the online poker business are moving quickly and each day seems to bring new partnerships and strategic maneuvering to gain an edge in the American market. Keep reading CAP for daily coverage as events unfold.
What do you think 888’s B2C announcement will be? Let us know in our General Discussion Forum.