888 to Sell its Bingo Operations

888 Holdings has today announced that it is to sell its entire online bingo operations to Saphalata Holdings. This is a company owned by Broadway Gaming Ltd. The deal includes the popular Dragonfish bingo software as well as all the 888 owned bingo brands like Costa Bingo, Wink Bingo, and 888 Ladies to name a few.

This announcement comes only three months after the announcement that 888 would be acquiring William Hill’s European operation from Caesars. In the press release, it was stated that selling the B2B and B2C bingo operation will allow them to concentrate on its core platform of casino, sports betting, and poker.

The deal is worth £38m ($50m) which is a reduced rate as it was valued at $71m in June 2021. 888 are still committed to the UK having purchased William Hill’s assets which included all of the bookmaker shops.

Broadway Gaming Expanding

Broadway Gaming has been operating for many years now with its bingo-focused brands – Butlers Bingo, Bingo Diamond, and Glossy Bingo to name a few.

But ever since Microgaming closed its bingo software, all Broadway bingo sites migrated to Pragmatic Play’s software instead. So, will we now see these popular UK bingo sites move onto the Dragonfish platform? Or, will they keep them separate and only operate the acquired brands on this platform.

Hundreds more Dragonfish bingo sites use the white-label platform for their licence, bingo games, customer support, payments, and so on. These brands aren’t owned or marketed by 888 so they aren’t included in the deal, for example, Bonnie Bingo and Ted Bingo are two.

These will continue to operate as normal. Part of the deal also includes 12 months of assistance from 888 to Broadway as they take on this large operation.

Comments from the Chief Executives

Itai Pazner, chief executive of 888, said: “Following a strategic review, we have taken the decision to sell the bingo business. This strategic transaction will enable 888 to further increase its focus on its core platform and unified, scalable and proprietary technology, and grow our key product verticals of casino, sport and poker, as we continue in our mission to be one of the world’s leading online betting and gaming businesses.”

David Butler, chief executive of Broadway Gaming, commented: “We are delighted to reach an agreement with 888 to acquire its bingo business and platform. By combining these with our existing business and brands, which include ‘Butlers Bingo’, we will be able to achieve an even stronger global footprint in key regulated bingo markets.”

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