888 Shares Jump After South African Deal Announced

October 01, 2009 | News Category: Casino Banking

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When the London listed online gaming group, 888 Holdings PLC created its business to business subsidiary, Dragonfish, it was understood that this unit would determine a new growth strategy for 888. The idea was for Dragonfish to tap into markets that had strong regulatory frameworks in place, and this week saw the group sign a deal that is in line with its new strategy.

888 Holdings announced that Dragonfish has signed an agreement with the South African Tsogo Sun Gaming Group, also known as TSG, in a bid to take the latter into the realm of online wagering.

With the news of the deal, shares of 888 Holdings Plc jumped on the London Stock Exchange.

Tsogo Sun Gaming Group is one of South Africa's leading casino groups, owning seven casino establishments in the country. These include Montecasino in Gauteng, the Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World, Hemingways Casino, the Ridge Casino and Entertainment Resort and the Emnotweni Casino. The group serves over 21 million players each and every year and is considered ripe for its next move to the world of online gambling.

According to the agreement, Dragonfish will provide Tsogo Sun Gaming with the technology to launch a quality sports book platform that will incorporate casino gaming, poker and bingo at a later date. The platform will also use Dragonfish's backend solutions, including payment processing systems, customer relationship management and other features.

It is believed that once South Africa establishes a legal framework for its online gambling industry – a process that has already begun – Dragonfish will provide casino games and poker offerings.

"Dragonfish's technology infrastructure provides an excellent platform for partnerships with land based casinos," said the Managing Director of Dragonfish, Gabi Campos. "This partnership is the first of many targeted at regulated markets, where Dragonfish's partners operate under local licenses and enjoy the benefits of such regulatory arrangement."

This is the second major contract that Dragonfish has penned this month. Earlier in September, 888 and the giant US gambling company, Harrah's signed a lucrative deal that will see the newly created Harrah's Interactive enter the United Kingdom Gambling market.

One market analyst commented: "We have noted the consistent progress at 888's B2B division Dragonfish in sealing affiliate deals and generally expanding the reach for the company as a whole."

The Chief Financial Officer of the Tsogo Sun Group, Marcel von Aulock said that TSG was a dynamic and innovative leader of gaming in South Africa and its move into online gaming was a natural progression for the business. "Dragonfish has a proven pedigree in online gaming technology delivery and this partnership provides and excellent platform to expand our offering," he said.

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