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by: Gene Koprowski.
The U.K.’s second largest online gambling firm, 888 Holdings Plc, rose in trading on
Friday the most since May in London trading  on the dramatic news that the firm had
signed a contract with Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. ...

...to provide online services. The move paves the way for a possible re-entry into the lucrative American market.

Shares climbed as much as 14 percent. The company’s Dragonfish business-to-business unit will provide poker and casino services to Harrah’s in “a multimillion dollar” deal, 888
Chief Executive Officer Gigi Levy said.

Harrah’s is the world’s biggest casino company. The lobbying Congress to allow licensed
gambling operators to accept online wagers from people in the U.S. 888 is investing in
business-to- business services to gain a beach head in the U.S. when online betting is
legalized there once again.

“It’s going to be the big U.S. players that take advantage of the situation,” Levy said.
“The easy entry for us, being that all these companies require infrastructure and
services, is on the B2B side.”





Companies were banned from taking wagers on Web-gaming services in the U.S. after
Congress stopped credit-card companies from collecting payments to online gambling sites in October 2006.

888, along with other online gaming companies, pulled out of the U.S. back then. Nearly
half the company’s revenue came from U.S. clients, 888 said at the time.

The shares climbed as much as 11.7 pence to 97 pence and traded at 94.25 pence as of
10:27 a.m. in London. The stock has dropped 3.3 percent this year, giving the company a market value of $541.2 million.

888 is providing support services in gaming and payment software for Harrah’s World
Series of Poker and Caesars Casino brands in the U.K., the company said in the statement.

“The real massive boost could be if Harrah’s partner with 888 in the U.S.,” said James
Hollins, an analyst at Daniel Stewart & Co. Hollins is raising his target price to 125
pence from 101 pence.


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