888 Holdings Purchases AAPN

Online gambling operator from the United Kingdom, 888 Holdings has finalized the purchase of the All American Poker Network (AAPN). This is a significant step for the company since it is a part of their US expansion policy.

The information came out on Tuesday when 888 stated that they paid $28 million in total…

…with $10 million transferred upfront and the rest payable by the end of March 2019.

With this acquisition, 888 is going to put the remaining 53% of the AAPN in its possession, putting it fully under its control. The company described this move as “an important strategic milestone that will facilitate the Group’s further growth strategy in the US.”

A Bit of History

AAPN was established five years ago and it was a project 888 and Avenue OLG Entertainment worked on. Furthermore, it is an offshoot of Avenue Capital Group whose owner is Marc Lasry, but some smaller investors are also associated to the AAPN.

The purpose of AAPN has been to spread the influence of the 888-branded online poker across the United States…

…in all of the countries where poker is legal.

As a side note, incumbent US President, Donald Trump, and Marc Lasry were working together on a prospective US-facing online poker venture in the early 2010s. At the time, Ivanka Trump, Donald’s daughter said that any poker operation bearing the Trump name on it…

…would be “the most powerful one in this space.”

The Importance of AAPN

According to 888 CEO, Itai Fieberger, AAPN has been “a very successful endeavor” for the company. He went on to say that overtaking it would provide…

“additional operational, technological and commercial flexibility to develop innovative and exciting new partnerships and launch in new states – through both B2B and B2C channels – as and when future regulation allows.”

Strengthening Its Position in the US

So far, the company has been successful “across the pond” in one of the largest and most emerging markets. They have entered online poker markets in New Jersey…

…which are the only three states where the activity is regulated locally!

The future plans for this group is to set camp in Pennsylvania as well, but that is expected to happen in the first few months of 2019. 888 will do so through a partnership with Mount Airy Casino.

Recognizing the Potential

Not only are they providing poker services to the US players…

…but they have also recognized the potential of the sports betting in the country!

Ever since the US supreme court decided to allow states to legalize sports wagering, the states have been changing the laws and amending constitutions to make this form of betting possible. New Jersey was one of the first states to introduce sports wagering and 888 did wait long to enter the market.

For this market specifically, they offered a separate domain.

There’s more

They used the opportunity to pen a deal with the New York Jets, making them the first major operator to sign an agreement with an NFL team. They are certainly not the last…

Source:

“888 acquires all of All American Poker Network, eyes US growth”, Stevan Stradbrooke, calvinayre.com, December 11, 2018.