888 Holdings Regulatory News (888)

6 March 2024

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

888 Holdings Plc

("888" or "the Group")

Strategic Review of US B2C operations 

Authentic Brands Group Agrees to Consensual License Termination for US Territory

888 (LSE: 888), one of the world's leading betting and gaming companies with internationally renowned brands including William Hill, 888 and Mr Green, today announces a strategic review of its US B2C operations. As part of this strategic process, the Group will consider all potential alternatives that can deliver value for the business. Such alternatives could include the sale (in whole or in part) of the Group's US B2C business, the controlled exit of US B2C operations, or other possible strategic transactions.

888 is active in four states, with SI Sportsbook and SI Casino in Michigan, SI Sportsbook in Colorado and Virginia and 888casino in New Jersey. The gross profit margin in the US is lower than the group level, reflecting significant direct costs of operating in the market including duties, market access fees, and licence fees, in addition to intense competition from well-capitalised incumbent participants. The Group has determined that its current structure will not optimise returns, and has initiated a strategic review of the operations.

As a result of this determination and review, the group has mutually agreed to part ways, concluding its partnership with Authentic Brands Group. This partnership had granted exclusive use of the Sports Illustrated brand for online betting and gaming. As part of the termination agreement, 888 has agreed to pay a fee of $25 million, which will be paid in cash from available resources. Additionally, 888 will pay an extra $25 million between 2027 and 2029. The termination of this agreement is expected to result in operating cost savings of approximately $6 to $7 million per year in 2024 and 2025.

The Group has not set a timetable for the completion of its strategic review and there can be no assurance regarding the results or outcome of the review. The Group's existing B2B arrangements in the US are unaffected by today's announcement.

Per Widerström, CEO of 888, commented:

"Since commencing my role as CEO I have been focused on ensuring the Group is set up to deliver strong value creation in the coming years. In the US, the intensity of competition and requirement for scale means huge investment is required to reach profitability.

Our partnership with Authentic has consistently driven strong demand for the SI brand across both consumer experiences and product offerings. A series of record-breaking months for SI Casino has underscored the strength of the SI brand. However, despite these successes, we have concluded that achieving sufficient scale in the US market to generate positive returns within an accelerated timeframe is unlikely.

The strategic review of our US B2C operations will continue at pace, and I look forward to updating shareholders on our plans for the wider Group in late March."

About 888 Holdings Plc:

888 Holdings plc (and together with its subsidiaries, "888" or the "Group") is one of the world's leading betting and gaming companies. The Group owns and operates internationally renowned brands including William Hill, 888, and Mr Green. Incorporated in Gibraltar, and headquartered and listed in London, the Group operates from offices around the world.

The Group's mission is to lead the gambling world in creating the best betting and gaming experiences, bringing unrivalled moments of excitement to people's day-to-day lives. It achieves this by developing state-of-the-art technology and content-rich products that provide fun, fair, and safe betting and gaming entertainment to customers worldwide.

Find out more at:

http://corporate.888.com/

Important Notices

This announcement may contain certain forward-looking statements, beliefs or opinions, with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of 888. These statements, which contain the words "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "seek", "continue", "aim", "target", "projected", "plan", "goal", "achieve", words of similar meaning or other forward looking statements, reflect 888's beliefs and expectations and are based on numerous assumptions regarding 888's present and future business strategies and the environment 888 will operate in and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. No representation is made that any of these statements or forecasts will come to pass or that any forecast results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve inherent known and unknown risks, uncertainties and contingencies because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future and may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of 888 to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond 888's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as future market conditions, currency fluctuations, the behaviour of other market participants, the actions of regulators and other factors such as 888's ability to continue to obtain financing to meet its liquidity needs, changes in the political, social and regulatory framework in which 888 operates or in economic or technological trends or conditions. Past performance of 888 cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance. As a result, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The list above is not exhaustive and there are other factors that may cause 888's actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement. Forward-looking statements speak only as of their date and 888, its respective parent and subsidiary undertakings, the subsidiary undertakings of such parent undertakings, and any of such person's respective directors, officers, employees, agents, affiliates or advisers expressly disclaim any obligation to supplement, amend, update or revise any of the forward-looking statements made herein, except where it would be required to do so under applicable law. No statement in this announcement is intended as a profit forecast or a profit estimate and no statement in this announcement should be interpreted to mean that the financial performance of 888 for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published for 888.