A design for success? 888 on scaling up the US with the Sports Illustrated partnership
EGR NA chats to 888 CEO Itai Pazner about the firm’s partnership with one of America’s leading sports publishers and how media can propel 888's US dominance
EGRSports Illustrated (SI) SIEGR North America (EGR NA): How important is the forthcoming NFL season to 888’s plans in terms of the SI sportsbook and wider US expansion?Itai Pazner (IP):EGR NA: In what ways does the group and SI plan to leverage SI’s considerable marketing and publishing assets to attract NFL bettors?IP: SISports IllustratedSIEGR NA: The initial agreement between 888 and SI includes a minimum annual advertising commitment on certain ABG media assets. Can you expand on how this works on a day-to-day basis?IP:SIEGR NA: Following the partnership with Sports Illustrated, the group is currently aiming to recruit various roles into a joint team. What are these roles generally and how many employees are you and SI looking to add to this joint team?IP:SISI. TSISISIEGR NA: How would you describe SI’s approach to the partnership?IP:SISI,EGR NA: How important is having the right product and platform to springboarding 888’s growth as it moves into the SI sportsbook?IP:EGR NA: We’ve seen two very big consolidations in the US over the last few weeks: Penn/theScore and DK/GNOG, both of which have been ostensibly to acquire readymade platform tech. 888 in contrast paid just £15m for BetBright in 2019. Given the premiums paid by US operators for platform tech, do you feel you got a bargain with BetBright?IP:EGR NA: Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts have both unveiled multi-million-dollar ad campaigns, both pledging to spend significant sums on marketing in the US. What’s 888’s stance on this? IP:EGR NA: Canada has obviously begun a journey towards single-event sports betting and igaming in the province of Ontario, and Yaniv Sherman [888 US SVP] has previously said the firm will look to launch a Canada version of the SI sportsbook. How are those plans proceeding?IP:SI