a bad thing that’s happening, that college students will end
up gambling their lives away and so on. I’ve been pushing
the message that it’s just another channel through which
people gamble and one that’s actually safer than walking
into a casino.”
With the critical New Jersey market set to go live at
the time of writing, the time for conjecture and persuasion
is over. Mattingley hopes the groundwork the company
has done will be enough to let the brand and product do
the rest.
“WE ALWAYS BELIEVED THE US WAS GOING TO BE
A GOOD MARKET FOR US AND ONE THAT WE HAD
TO BE IN, BUT THINGS HAVE HAPPENED QUICKER
THAN WE THOUGHT”
Brian Mattingley, chief executive, 888
eGaming Review: Has 888’s success in the US exceeded
your personal expectations?
Brian Mattingley: We’ve made phenomenal progress but
that is down to the development and technology teams
in Israel. Those guys have really exceeded our wildest
dreams. We always believed the US was going to be a good
market for us and one that we had to be in, but things have
happened quicker than we thought. Delaware happened
quite suddenly and so we had to do a lot of arduous work
in putting the RFP together with Scientific Games. As a
company we’ve risen to the occasion and I’m delighted
with the results. It’s been bloody hard work but we’re now
beginning to see the fruits of our labour.
eGR: Looking back, how crucial has it been to steer clear
of exclusive partnerships in the US?
BM: Not being exclusive with any one party has genuinely
helped. There will be question marks over the longevity of
our contract with Caesars and I think they will eventually
have an agenda which is different from the one they have
now. We don’t know how that’s going to play out. But for
us the main thrust is now the B2C business. I don’t like
talking about [our US business] as a joint venture – I see
it very much as the 888 operation. It is under the guise of
the All American Poker Network (AAPN) but in essence it’s
the 888 brand and expertise and we w