Member Info for Saab93se

Georgina673, what is your background in the gambling industry? Without giving away any personal info I’m curious to know as you seem to have better knowledge than most. Another poster asked “Why are you so insistent on portraying the demise of 888” which I think is a valid point. Is there any price at which you’d buy?

Georgina673, I think growth will come from WH. It is not a dead brand! There’s a thriving William Hill on my local highstreet and it’s a name very well known particularly to the older generation (who have considerably more wealth than most youngsters) ok only mainly in the UK, but Mr Green helps make up for that with their European coverage. If you think the white paper is a serious threat to 888’s prosperity, how do you think it will affect the competition, have they gone to the same lengths to prepare as 888?

Did 888 pay too much for WH? Yes.
Could they have bought WH for less? No, I don’t think so. Why not? Mainly because of timing. Online casino gaming surged in popularity during the covid lockdown. People had plenty of money and time on their hands, and playing poker or roulette was the perfect distraction to the incessantly negative “global pandemic” news. There was less regulation and maximum stake limits. Hence revenue and profit surged and 888 were more cash rich than they’d ever be. The company was in an extremely strong position and this was essential if lenders were to back a large scale acquisition. Meanwhile William Hill bookies were temporarily shut down with an uncertain future and sports betting all but dead. Were 888 expecting to surpass the profits made during lockdown? Unlikely. Was William Hill going to look any less attractive as a business prospect? Probably not. “Buy when others are fearful” - The fact that 888 made the acquisition when they did, I think was a masterstroke. If 888 had played it safe and kept plodding along with online casino games only, with increased regulation and a looming recession, I think we’d be witnessing a slow but certain decline in revenue and profit, possibly longterm. There was a narrow window of opportunity. Had 888 pondered too long, the chance to acquire one of the UK’s best know bookmakers would have been and gone. It wasn’t the perfect deal, and I can understand why there is so much anger at the collapse in share price. But instead of lamenting management’s decision, I think shareholders should be grateful as it has almost certainly cemented 888’s longterm future. The mcap in 10 years will be multiples of what it would’ve been without WH.

In simplest terms my take on management’s WH decision: “we can borrow £2b and make 20% per year while paying 10% per year interest”

Jeez, it looks like Dogger’s had a rough ride. Think I’d be similarly pessimistic and cynical if I’d been burned that badly.

How is this awful news, Dogger? I think major shareholders would prefer to be invested in a company that demonstrates integrity.

Looks like you’re winning today, Dogger. But today’s winners will be tomorrow’s losers imo

Dogger, great time to increase your short on the back of this “dead cat bounce”.

Looking forward to Entain’s Q4 results tomorrow?

A larger than normal UT, and at the highest price of the day:

16:35:07 70.65 1,281,524 Buy* 905.40k

I’m no day trader but I believe this could be the early indication of a trend reversal, especially if it opens at a higher price tomorrow.

Not worried in the slightest. If you’re basing your buy/sell decision on chart action good luck to you, you’ll need it.

Dogger, I don’t think the possibility of 888 losing their license is even an issue. What I’m more interested in is the reason for Itai Pazner’s departure. It isn’t known for sure that he was sacked because of the dodgy VIP accounts but the timing makes this look undeniable. It’s also strange how the CFO was about to leave but now that the CEO has immediately gone, he’s staying. Which suggests to me maybe Pazner had a few enemies within the Board and they were looking for a reason to have him ousted? Yet the tone of Lord Mandelson’s statement does not suggest this:

"On behalf of the Board I would like to thank Itai for his significant contributions to the business over more than 20 years, including the last four as CEO. Itai has played a very important role in building a business with powerful proprietary technology, and has overseen successful early stages to the William Hill integration process. We wish him well in his future endeavours."

Not something you’d write about someone who has recklessly risked 888’s very survival.. This is just speculation and the next RNS may conclude the situation along the lines of “suspension lifted on VIP accounts and no further action to be taken” and we’ll never know.

Financial Times 30/1/2023: “A spokesperson for the gambling commissioner for Gibraltar, where 888 is licensed, told the Financial Times that it would be “reviewing” the internal investigation in due course. “It is too early to say what the regulatory outcome will be, but on the known facts, and because of the level of commitment to resolution, licence suspension or revocation is highly unlikely,” it added.”

Former CEO Itai Pazner then promptly sent to jail and forced to share a cell with Dogger69…

Hardboy, I agree. When there’s too much wishful thinking (or the opposite!) it’s probably wise to reread the RNS and remain as objective as possible.

“ 888 (LSE: 888) today announces the suspension of VIP activities in certain of its .com markets pending the outcome of an internal compliance investigation.

Following an internal compliance review, it has come to light that certain best practices have not been followed in regard to KYC (Know Your Client) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) processes for 888 VIP customers in the Middle East region. While further internal investigations are underway, the Board has taken the decision to suspend VIP customer accounts in the region, effective immediately. The Board currently estimates that the impact is less than 3% of Group revenues, should the suspensions remain in place. Based on the Board's current understanding, the process deficiencies identified are isolated to this region only.

Lord Mendelsohn, Chair, commented:

"The Board and I take the Group's compliance responsibilities incredibly seriously. When we were alerted to issues with some of 888's VIP customers, the Board took decisive actions. We will be uncompromising in our approach to compliance as we build a strong and sustainable business."”

But dogger69, when Boohoo was at 38p, you said it would drop to 5p. Six weeks after your prediction, it’s now closer to 50p. You were wrong by a factor of 10! What if the same thing happens here?

As the uk weather warms up, I expect dogger69 will stop making negative price predictions on share forums and find other ways to make use of his time.

I like these sort of days. Sold 25% of my holding at 72p and bought it back again at just below 70p. Nothing wrong with that, is there?

Georgina673, I like to keep an open mind about my investments and appreciate your views. My main reason currently for sticking with 888 is that I believe it’s grossly undervalued. How would you compare 888 with Entain in terms of valuation? Entain has 2.5x 888’s revenue, 3x ebitda, faces similar headwinds (also carries £2b debt) yet has x25 888’s mcap. How can this be?

And the wallies who sell out based on the sentiment they see reflected in these forums…

Teddy100, I wouldn’t be so worried about interest rates in the states as the majority of the debt is in sterling, 40% euros, less than 10% dollars (figures off the top of my head, might need to check) but 70% of the debt is at a fixed interest rate for at least the next 3 years anyway.