888 Holdings has received an online casino license from Portuguese regulator Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos.
888 can now offer online slots, table games and a range of poker games through its 888.pt site. The company will also use its online poker license to share Portuguese players with player pools in Spain. The player sharing is part of an agreement with Spain, France and Italy. However, 888 is no longer active in France and Italy has yet to begin sharing players.
The license is the 16th to be issued by since the country’s regulated online gambling market began in 2015.
“This latest license approval is another important step in 888’s growth strategy which is focused on diversification and expansion across regulated markets, said Itai Pazner, chief executive of 888. “The launch of the flagship 888Casino brand in Portugal provides good growth opportunities for 888 and we are also very excited about the forthcoming launch of the group’s European interstate poker network which will pool players across Spain and Portugal and deliver them a first-class poker experience on 888’s new Poker 8 platform.”
In another matter, GentingBet announced it has applied for a Spanish casino and sports betting license.
“Gambling is an important part of Spanish culture,” said Jeremy Taylor, Managing Director of Genting Online. The country is of significant size, has one of the highest per capita spend in Europe and has consistently grown during the past 10 years or so. Genting is a huge global business with a significant UK casino estate and has big ambitions for its mobile, live casino and sportsbook products.
“We believe GentingBet’s wonderful heritage, social responsibility focus, live casino expertise and comprehensive betting and gaming suite will resonate well in Spain as it will other European markets,” he said. “Having recently opened our new Interactive Headquarters in Malta, we are now perfectly placed to capitalize on the opportunity that the European online market presents. We have therefore taken advantage of the one-year window offered to operators and submitted the application to Spain’s Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DJOJ) regulatory body. If successful, we hope to roll out in Q4 of 2019.”
Genting Casino UK announced it was restructuring its gambling division in 2018, having appointed Alison Brincat as the group’s new affiliate marketing lead, as well as Taylor as interactive managing director.
