Gambling giant 888 hit by high street reopening

The Times
 
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The reopening of shops and leisure venues has put a dent in revenues at 888 Holdings amid a tempering of the surge in lockdown gambling.

In an otherwise strong second quarter, the online gambling operator said that since the resumption of indoor trading in retail and leisure on May 17, average daily revenues in the UK had fallen by about 20 per cent.

Anti-gambling campaigners had expressed concern over the sharp rise in the number of people occupying themselves during lockdown by playing casino and bingo games and virtual poker.

888 cautioned that it was not just in the UK where lockdown gambling was moderating, and the board remained “mindful of the potential impact of greater than normal seasonality in the summer post Covid-19 [and]