It’s Official: 888 is Closing its Online Poker and Casino Platforms

On June 3, 888 Holdings plc. will begin shutting down its 888poker and 888casino. The company made the news known this week.
Despite this news, there will be no changes to the tri-state cooperative agreement that operates live poker rooms for World Series of Poker players in Nevada, Michigan, and New Jersey. 

The news of the closure isn’t particularly surprising. In February, 888 Holdings plc began selling off United States assets to Hard Rock Digital. This came after 888 ended its partnership with SI Sportsbook for a sports betting platform. 

Additionally, 888poker was responsible for less than 1% of the New Jersey online poker market in March. 

While WSOP seems to be OK and moving forward, it appears that Hard Rock won’t be picking up where 888 left off and isn’t expected to launch a poker platform.

888’s closure will be the first time an online poker platform left New Jersey in about a decade. 

The Garden State recently started releasing revenue figures for individual NJ online casino operators as opposed to the license holders, and the results showed just how poorly 888poker was doing. 

In January, the site generated less than $48,000 in revenue. That was just 0.006% of the market. For context, the next closest after them was PartyPoker, which had more than $530,000. 

From here, players at 888poker and 888casino will need to withdraw funds by June 3. If not, don’t worry; you’ll still get your money, as there are plans for checks to be mailed over the next few months. 

New Jersey is just one of six states in the United States with legal online poker and just one of three that are involved with WSOP.