Why 888 is Changing its Name

Recently, sports betting powerhouse 888 announced that it is changing its brand name. Originally, 888 was founded decades ago, using 888 as its name because these numbers are considered “lucky” in many cultures. Besides owning all 888 brands, the company also owns William Hill as well as Mr. Green.

A rep. for the company stated that it’s changing it’s name to “better reflect the strength of the group’s multi-brand operating model and its vision and mission to make life more interesting by delighting players with world-class betting and gaming experiences.”

The company has been under financial strain since taking ownership of William Hill in July of 2022. The U.S. version of William Hill was acquired by Caesars back in 2020. The non-US properties were acquired by 888.

888 also lost a chunk of money on its venture into the U.S. sports betting market. They teamed with Sports Illustrated and offered betting services in Michigan with plans to expand. This investment turned out to be very costly. They are exiting the market and will have paid the Sports Illustrated brand $50M by 2029 when the original contract expires. Despite the deal being lucrative for S.I., they too are having financial difficulties, much more severe than 888.

The new company name will be “Evoke”. It will focus on markets in UK, Italy, Spain, and Denmark primarily. The name change is probably the result of a couple factors. The company would probably like to distance itself from recent failures. Companies also rebrand from time to time to appeal to the newer generation of customers. For example, longtime sports betting staple Intertops rebranded to EveryGame.eu at the end of 2021.

Scott Morris
SBA Staff Writer