888 Reports Expansion Into Online Sports Betting Industry

Online gambling giant 888.com has announced their intentions to expand into the online sports betting arena, an estimated £35-billion/year industry. The launch of the new venue is dated for sometime this year, pitting them directly against their would-be partner, Ladbrokes.

888 chief executive Gigi Levy first announced the company's desire to expand into the sports betting industry back in April of this year, but with the UK currently offering only one sports betting contract, they're making their move now.

888 was attempting to scale into the market by acquiring Ladbrokes, a reputable online sports betting facility, but talks ended recently when the two were unable to agree upon terms.

If 888 does in fact secure the sports betting contract, the company will have what the industry deems a 'holy trinity' - the provision of all three major online gambling services - poker, casino and sports betting.

Levy does not intend to stop there, though. The future of 888 has projected to develop new community networking services that will reach new players and sustain a higher rate of player retention.

"The online gaming audience is fragmented and not particularly loyal to any one operator," Levy said, "Our idea is to have customers coming to our site in clusters of friends: that way they will remain online with us for longer or return because 888 is where their friends are."