888 in warning over effects of the coronavirus on spending and problem gambling

Online gambling operators 888 Holdings have said they have seen increased interest in their casino and poker products since the outbreak of Covid-19 and the halting of major sports events.

However, they warned that while the increased interest in gaming would help mitigate the impact on sports betting, the longer the crisis continued the greater the chance of falling customer spend due to economic uncertainty.

They also said they recognised the importance of preventing harm from gambling with people forced to spend more time at home.

Online gaming is coming under increased scrutiny from critics of the gambling industry who fear an increase in problem gambling due to the lockdown.

888 published their annual results for 2019 on Wednesday and in his chairman's statement Brian Mattingley said: "While it is unclear how this fast-moving situation will evolve over the coming months, the postponement and cancellation of sporting events will impact 888's sport vertical, which accounted for 16 per cent of revenue in 2019.

"There is currently evidence of increased customer activity in the group's casino and poker products that might, in part, compensate for the sports betting disruption for a period of time.

"However, in the event of a prolonged period of global macroeconomic uncertainty, it is possible that consumer spending across the group's online gaming product verticals may also become impacted."

Anti-gambling hardliners can't self-isolate themselves from the facts

Mattingley said the group recognised that vigilance in preventing gambling-related harm was more important than ever due to the coronavirus crisis.

He added: "The group continues to offer its customers support and is proactively communicating with its customers to make them aware of safe gambling tools to limit and control their play."

888 reported that group revenue in 2019 had increased six per cent to a record $560.3 million (approx £447.5m). However, profit before tax of $45.3m (approx £36.2m) was down 58 per cent due to higher gaming duties.

Chief executive Itai Pazner said: "Despite the headwinds of significantly increased gaming duties and challenging conditions in some of our global markets, 888 delivered a resilient financial performance during 2019 reflecting the strength of our unique combination of technology, compliance and diversification across regulated markets."

888 shares were down nearly 5.5 per cent at 134.2p on Wednesday morning.

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