Wink Bingo Purchased by 888 Holdings

Based in Gibraltar, 888 Holdings Plc., has signed an agreement to purchase Wink Bingo for as much as £60 million to upgrade 888's presence in this growing area of the online gambling market. Wink's current owners Daub Ltd, will receive an initial payment of £11 million plus a payout of up to £48.7 million in the second quarter of 2011 depending on performance, with a final total of £59.7 million which translates into about $96 million USD.

Chief Executive Officer of 888 Holdings, Gigi Levy, commented that the purchase of Wink Bingo will help the company expand its online footprint "in the lucrative U.K. market". This is 888's second acquisition, of a bingo operation buying Globalcom Ltd. for $43.4 million back in March of 2007. Bingo is thought to be the future new growth area for the online gambling industry. 888 was forced by American regulators to cease operations in that country shredding it's market value three years ago. Levy thinks that the company will once again have a chance in the future U.S. market should the country revamp it's current ban on online gambling.

Wink Bingo came on strong in early 2008 and soon became a valued asset with great brand recognition. Wink Bingo attracted more than 60,000 active players a month and generated revenues of £15 million and pre-tax profits of £1.3 million in the 11 months prior to 30 November. Gala Coral, PartyGaming and Gamesys are all major players in the online bingo market and now with the Wink acquisition 888 will be more competitive. Foxy Bingo which is owned by Cashcade was bought by PartyPoker for £96 million last July after 888 lost it's bid for that company. Levy was quoted in the Times Online, as saying, ''They see it (bingo) as a social rather than a gambling experience.'' adding, while the majority of players were in the U.K., there was room for attracting more players in Spain and Scandinavia.