888 “cautious on the US market.”

888 Holdings had recently released its Q1 results for 2012, revealing an impressive 25% increase in revenue to $94 million from $75 million in the same period a year earlier. When speaking about the US prospects, CEO Brian Mattingley of 888 said it was ready to launch a real-money offering in the US market, but warned: “I’m very cautious on the US market. It will open. When it will open, nobody is sure. We want to concentrate more on territories where we know they are opening.”

He added: “Our focused strategy has led to another excellent quarter, with ongoing strength in Poker driving March to the highest ever monthly revenues in the history of 888.” Going forward, 888 concluded: “Trading during the first three weeks of the second quarter continued to be strong, with average daily revenue 1% higher than Q1 2012, and 26% higher than Q1 2011. Although we expect to see a return to the historic seasonal pattern as we move through the quarter, given the strength of the business and our continued strategic focus we are confident of further progress during the year.”

On the other hand, Spain was also dipped into in terms of keeping a watchful eye on the market. CEO Brian Mattingley revealed that he & a fellow executive from the company had travelled to Madrid recently to assess the current situation.

They came away appearing to sound disappointed, having found “…a little bit of confusion out there, so we are not sure when the market is going to open up.”

888 will focus on and aim to take advantage of the opportunities offered by newly liberalised gaming markets.