888 Is Having A Busy Summer, With Changes And Takeover Bid

Summer is usually a slow time in the online gambling world. That’s not at all true for 888 in the summer of 2016.

‘Blast’ lottery sit and go rolls out

888 finally has its answer to the PokerStars lottery sit-and-go product: BLAST. What’s it look like?

• The sit-and-go-style tournament features four players.
• It’s a hyper-turbo format, with two-minute blinds.
• Players start with 30 big blinds.
• Players learn the size of the prize pool for which they are playing beforehand, via a randomized draw.
• Prizes can be distributed on a winner-take-all basis or to more players depending on the multiplier applied to the prize pool.
• Gameplay is eventually interrupted and becomes an “all-in” shootout in which players have no control over the bets.

The big question — whether players will like it — remains to be seen. Given the fact that regular grinders are not likely to find an edge, BLAST will not be popular with them. But if recreational players like the randomness and gamble behind the game, then it could do OK.

888 casino redesign

888 announced it was about to roll out a new version of its online casino.

“Leading-edge UX technology and in-house innovative design guarantees that players will enjoy the same trusted online experience that they know and love in the most fashionable of venues,” according to a recent 888 press release.

Of course, the summer is a good time to roll out a new platform, when things are a little slower in terms of user numbers.

William Hill takeover talk

888 Holdings and The Rank Group plan to put a bid on sportsbook operator William Hill.

That comes after William Hill ousted its CEO following a poor showing in the online sports betting market.

It’s not clear how serious the possible new conglomeration is to coming to fruition — William Hill downplayed the idea — but it’s just another example of 888 not just sitting on its hands.

WSOP / 888 pushes ahead in NJ

The New Jersey online poker industry had a rough go of it in terms of revenue in June.

The one good development came for the WSOP NJ / 888 Poker NJ network, which now leads the way in terms of cash-game traffic.

The network also had some aggressive promotions in July, and it will be interesting to see if it holds on to its liquidity advantage, and perhaps even surpass PokerStars in revenue.