888 results: William Hill owner reveals a drop in annual sales as it aims for £30m savings

The firm revealed an 8 per cent decline in total sales over 2023, to £1.71bn. The fall was driven by the group moving away from “dotcom markets”, which refers to places where 888 runs its website but does not do any marketing, which it said led to an £80m hit to revenues during the year. Sales were also impacted by the introduction of safer gambling measures in the UK, which are designed to protect more vulnerable players and prevent problem gambling, and changes in how it advertises to customers.

888 said it saw an 18 per cent reduction in average revenue per customer in the UK and Ireland, meaning people spending less money each time they bet, more than offsetting an 11 per cent increase in the average number of active customers it had per month. The group said it initiated a global cost savings programme of about £30m in December.

Chief executive Per Widerstrom said the company was taking “rapid actions to position the group for future success”, including “reducing our overhead costs and freeing up funds to invest in growth”.

A spokesperson for the group confirmed that it had made the “difficult decision” to close one of its 11 global offices, in Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital city. It also said it would be making some redundancies in Israel as part of organisational changes.

But the company added it was planning to invest more in several areas such as intelligent automation and AI-powered data and insights.

It is also shifting its focus toward “recreational customers” alongside strengthening its own gambling protections.

888 said the plans will improve profitability in the long term, but the additional spending means it now expects adjusted earnings for 2024 to be at the “low end” of its guidance, currently between £340m and £397m.

Mr Widerstrom, who became the group’s chief executive in October, added: “I have joined the business at both an exciting and important time.

“There are clear opportunities to unlock our significant potential, but as a business we know that going forward we must be more proactive in adapting to changes in regulation and technology.

“The financial performance of the group must improve, and the actions we are taking will build a leaner, more agile and more effective organisation structure, as well as establishing a more effective management of the customer and product life cycle.”

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “The latest update from William Hill owner 888 reveals the material impact of tighter regulation on the gambling sector. This will only become more of an issue as time goes on, given the direction of travel on the rules the industry faces.

“The good news is the company is ahead of schedule on taking costs out of the business, but the plan to increase marketing spend off the back of it and therefore push earnings to the lower end of the consensus range has gone down like a lead balloon with investors.”