888 holdings public limited company  annual   report    accounts  2007 h ig h l ig h t s
2 0 07
ngr
1 2
36

2007 us213 million
2006 us157 million
up
casino ngr
1 2
33

2007 us118 million
2006 us89 million
up
poker ngr
1 2
18

2007 us81 million
2006 us68 million
up
	 ifc	 highlights
	 2	 888 	 brands
	 4	 chairman’s 	 statement
	 6	 chief 	 executive	 officer’s	 review
	 10	 enhanced 	 business	 review
	 31	 risk 	 report
	32	 board 	 of	 directors
	33	 corporate 	 governance
	37	 remuneration 	 report
	45	 directors’ 	 report
	48	 independent 	 auditors’	 report
	50	 consolidated 	 income	 statement
	 51	 consolidated 	 balance	 sheet
	52	 	consolidated	 statement	 of	 changes	 	 in	 equity
	53	 consolidated 	 statement	 of	 cash	 flows
	54	 	notes	 to	 the	 consolidated	 	 financial	 statements
	78	 company 	 balance	 sheet
	79	 	company	 statement	 of	 changes	 in	 equity
	80	 company 	 statement	 of	 cash	 flows
	 81	 	notes	 to	 the	 company	 	 financial	 statements
	83 	 	 shareholder 	 information
ebitda
3 4
177

2007 us45 million
2006 us16 million
up
profit before tax
2 3
106

2007 us46 million
2006 us22 million
up
1	net 	 gaming	 revenue	 “ngr”
2 	 c o n t i n u i n g 	 o p e r a t i o n s 	 r e l a t e s 	 t o 	 a l l 	 n o n  u s 	 f a c i n g 	 o p e r a t i o n s 	  s e e 	 n o t e 	 2 	 t o 	 t h e 	 fi n a n c i a l 	 s t a t e m e n t s  
3 	 e x c l u d i n g 	 s h a r e 	 b e n e fi t 	 c h a r g e s 	 o f 	 u s  7  8 	 m i l l i o n 	  2 0 0 6  	 u s  8  8 	 m i l l i o n  
4 	 	 e x c l u d i n g 	 e x c h a n g e 	 g a i n 	 o f 	 u s  1  1 	 m i l l i o n 	  2 0 0 6  	 u s  4  7 	 m i l l i o n  
	 contents annual report  accounts 2007  total operating
income
38

2007 us217 million
2006 us157 million
up
real money 
registered 
customer 
accounts
31

2007 47 million
2006 36 million
up
quarterly ngr per 
active customer
1
19

q407 us270
q107 us228
up
quarterly casino ngr 
per active customer
1
30

q407 us478
q107 us367
up
at 888 we believe that entertainment is the spark that completes our 
lives that after the challenges and routine that occupies our daily 
lives everyone seeks fun and enjoyment… 
at 888 we believe that we are the home of online gaming entertainment
we believe that our primary responsibility is to provide the best gaming experience to our customers – the most entertaining 
innovative and relevant games and the most exciting and rewarding entertainment opportunities to win in a responsible yet  
fun environment
our strategy is to achieve profitable growth through the acquisition and retention of valuable customers by providing our  
customers a differentiated intentional customer experience in a safe secure trustworthy and responsible environment 
our goal is to become the leading online gaming entertainment company in the world to achieve this we must consistently 
provide our customers with the ideal customer experience 
1 net gaming revenue “ngr” 888 holdings public limited company  8 8 8 br a n d s
2 0 07
launched in 1997 casino on net is one of the 
world’s largest online casinos with localised 
versions tailored for many countries and available 
in 14 languages casino on net features 
traditional casino games such as blackjack 
roulette craps and baccarat as well as a large 
variety of slot machines with bonus video games  
in addition customers are offered with various 
fixed odds games and branded slot machines  
all of which can be played for different stakes 
from 025 to thousands of dollars
launched in 2002 pacific poker has more than 
30000 active customers per quarter and 
features texas hold’em and several other 
variations of poker in both ring games and 
tournaments from freerolls to a world leading 
3 million tournament available in 12 languages 
pacific poker is one of the strongest brands in  
the poker world and offers a varied look and  
feel which can be chosen by beginners skilled 
and professional players all part of the same 
gaming client 
launched in march 2008 888sport was made 
available simultaneously in the uk germany 
sweden denmark spain and austria as an 
international sportsbetting offering 888sport 
offers editorial content and sportsbetting 
selections each tailored and localised per 
country as well as live inrunning betting and 
coverage of a large number of sports events 
888sport is planned to launch in half a dozen 
more languages and complete a global rollout  
by the end of 2008
launched in 2008 888ladies has already 
become one of the uk’s leading bingo rooms 
with 75ball and 90ball rooms 888ladies is a 
glamorous place for women to indulge 
themselves 888ladies offers bingo games with 
prizes a venue to meet and chat with new 
friends to view contemporary content alongside 
a rich community interaction features include 
the ladies lounge where customers can find 
birthday bulletins bingo glossary bingo calls  
and loyalty point offers
launched in 2007 wwwbingo888com is a 
bingo network created using the acquired bingo 
platform this brand is part of a network of niche 
bingo white labels that 888 operates but was the 
first bingo game available directly from www888
com this skin has proved an instant hit and has 
attracted double the traffic of the largest white 
label previously available overnight on www
bingo888com customers chat and interact 
between themselves share jackpots and 
compete for prizes 
launched in 2006 888mobile taps into a huge 
and to date unaddressed market allowing 
customers to use their existing online registration 
and play a mobile phone casino offering 
including blackjack roulette and video slots on 
their mobile phones this offering is updated 
every year to ensure it leverages the latest 250 
mobile phone models and is marketed on 
www888com affiliate websites and on mobile 
portals such as 3 tmobile and orange uk annual report  accounts 2007  launched in 2007 888backgammon is a popular 
peertopeer game offered within 888’s unified 
client together with poker bingo and casino 
888backgammon features tournament arena  
and extends the time that a customer spends  
in 888’s gaming client
888tv is a portal for skill games allowing users 
 to download games open accounts and  
play tournaments 
the site offered in english and french serves  
as a product to monitor the potential of the  
skill games market and is also used as an 
additional marketing channel as well as links  
to 888’s offer brands
lucky ace is a high growth new poker and 
casino brand targeted at europe the brand was 
launched in 2008 as a white label powered by 
888 and is marketed by a team of industry 
veterans with a track record of customer 
recruitment and traffic generation  
888info is the group’s free play casino and 
poker site offered by 888com offering its 
products from 888com main casino and 
poker offering but only with play money  
for tutorial purposes 
launched in 2007 as a white label powered by 
888 for the 165club uk snooker pool and 
poker chain rileys poker is a pioneering 
partnership between 888 and rileys that has 
created a unique community of poker customers 
this community comprises customers that meet 
and play live poker both offline in rileys clubs and 
online the immediate success of this partnership 
was recognised by egaming awards which 
awarded it the 2007 landlinks partnership of  
the year award
launched in 2007 as a white label powered by 
888 wwwtowertorneoscom – one of latin 
america’s leading poker brands – is an online 
poker and casino offering in spanish 
portuguese and english enabled by 888’s world 
leading technology marketing payment 
processing and customer support tower 
torneos international operates integrated 
tournaments online and offline leveraging their 
strong tv presence in latin america  888 holdings public limited company  c h a i r m a n ’ s 
s tat e m e n t
2 0 07
on behalf of the board of 888 holdings plc 
i am pleased to present the financial results 
for the year ended 31 december 2007
 	 e x c l u d i n g 	 s h a r e 	 b e n e fi t 	 c h a r g e s 	 o f 	 u s  7  8 	 m i l l i o n 	  2 0 0 6  	 u s  8  8 	 m i l l i o n   	 c o n t i n u i n g 	 o p e r a t i o n s 
this was our first full year of operating 
without our former largest market the 
us we have successfully refocused  
our operations into other markets with 
fantastic results our success is 
manifested by our recent return to the 
ftse 250 and by industry accolades 
such as best betting and gaming 
c o m p a n y at the leisure report awards 
2007 c a s i n o 	 o f 	 t h e 	 y e a r and best land
l i n k s 	 p a r t n e r s h i p at the egaming awards 
2007 as well as c a s i n o 	 o f 	 t h e 	 y e a r at the 
gambling online awards 2007 
our first ever acquisition was completed 
in may with the purchase of the online 
bingo business of globalcom ltd and 
has proven to be a great success with 
excellent financial results following its 
integration into 888’s offering umbrella 
the year was marked as a year of 
innovation and initiatives – we have 
expanded our business model by 
offering our full service on a “white label” 
basis to selected business partners as 
demonstrated by our strategic alliances 
richard kilsby 
chairman
with rileys poker in the uk and tower 
torneos in latin america obtained an 
online sportsbetting licence in italy 
introduced a targeted local offering in 
asia through live dealer and released 
our first ever branded video slot 
machines to name a few 
i would like to thank all 888 employees 
our management and our customers for 
making 2007 an outstanding year 
financial results
2007 was a phenomenal year for us 
ngr increased 36 to us213 million 
2006 us157 million with total 
operating income increase of 38 to 
us217 million 2006 us157 million 
driven by turnover growth from both our 
core casino and poker products and 
from the introduction of new products 
particularly bingo profit before tax 
showed remarkable growth and 
increased 106 to us46 million 2006 
us22 million
  annual report  accounts 2007  responsible gaming is a fundamental pillar to our business  
our aim is to ensure our services are used responsibly
dividend
given our strong financial results in 
addition to our interim dividend of 18 
cents per share paid in october 2007 
the board has recommended a final 
dividend of 50 cents per share 
our values
during 2007 we outlined and 
implemented our core values that 
represent the philosophy by which we 
operate we take pride in our ability to 
consistently maintain them our values 
were implemented across all parts of the 
organisation and comprise excellence 
innovation caring customer centricity 
leading and collaboration 
responsible gaming
responsible gaming is a fundamental 
pillar of our business our aim is to 
ensure our services are used 
responsibly and are fair and transparent 
we work hard to raise awareness 
through education and to provide our 
staff with first rate tools for ensuring a 
responsible gaming environment in 
2007 we were awarded for the first time 
“gamcare” certification recognising 
888’s dedication to customer protection 
we also launched our responsible 
gaming website www888responsible
com where we offer comprehensive and 
easily accessible information about 
responsible gaming practices dealing 
with problem gambling preventing 
underage gambling and more 
outlook
building on a great 2007 we have 
introduced our new bingo brand 
888ladies and launched 888sport  
our sportsbook offering quarter 1 of 
2008 started well across our business 
particularly in our new bingo and 
sportsbook offering your board  
believes we are well positioned to 
develop and grow our business in this 
exciting and expanding space for the 
foreseeable future
richard kilsby
chairman
casino of the year – 2007 888 holdings public limited company  c h i e f e x e c u t i v e 
of f i c e r’ s r e v i e w
2 0 07
our success in 2007 was based on a clear 
strategy and business focus coupled with 
great execution
 	 e x c l u d i n g 	 s h a r e 	 b e n e fi t 	 c h a r g e s 	 o f 	 u s  7  8 	 m i l l i o n 	  2 0 0 6  	 u s  8  8 	 m i l l i o n   	 c o n t i n u i n g 	 o p e r a t i o n s 
2007 was a year of transformation for 
888 in which we had to restructure the 
business following the enactment in the 
united states of the unlawful internet 
gaming enforcement act “uigea” in 
october 2006 which resulted in us losing 
55 of our revenues almost overnight 
i am very pleased to report that we  
have now successfully completed the 
restructuring and repositioning of the 
business and have delivered very strong 
results for the year both in terms of 
revenue and profit we have emerged a 
better company clearer in our strategy 
more diverse and complete in our 
offering with a stronger presence in  
more markets and much greater local 
“incountry” focus we have also 
restructured our senior operational 
management team with a mix of 
experienced managers from within the 
group and seasoned executives recruited 
from other industries enabling us to 
innovate where the industry has been 
slow to change in recent years 
the financial results speak for 
themselves the 106 profit before tax 
growth to us46 million and 38 total 
operating income growth to 
us217 million demonstrate the resilience 
of our business the strength of our team  
and the continued attractiveness of our 
business model with basic earnings per 
share of 126 cents and strong 2007 we 
have fully recovered from the effects of 
uigea with various strategic initiatives 
now under way we see a bright future for 
the business 
gigi levy 
chief executive officer
these are excellent results and given  
our strong financial performance we  
will be paying a final dividend of 50 cents 
per share in addition to the interim 
dividend of 18 cents per share paid in 
october 2007
delivering on our strategy 
our success in 2007 was based on a 
clear strategy and business focus 
coupled with great execution our 
strategy was founded on the same 
principles that had made us successful in 
previous years but building on these core 
principles in order to incorporate several 
new directions allowing us to accelerate 
growth we continued focusing on 
acquiring and retaining valuable 
customers by delivering a compelling 
localised innovative unique and 
entertaining customer experience while 
embarking on new initiatives these 
initiatives included strategic partnerships 
the use of new and innovative marketing 
channels the integration of third party 
games the introduction of enhanced 
communication and entertainment 
features and a revolutionary gaming 
environment in which customers can 
access all games from a single location 
2007 was a phenomenal year in terms of 
the development of our offering we 
introduced an “industry first” with our first 
fullyintegrated gaming environment 
which allows access to all of our games 
from one location this approach clearly 
enhanced revenues from customers who 
were able for the first time to play any 
game they wanted without limitation and 
enabled us to better crosssell and up annual report  accounts 2007  sell to our customers the success of  
this approach is now proven and we  
will continue to provide an integrated 
environment to more customers and add 
more games into this environment 
another significant development effort 
centred on opening our platform to easy 
integration with games from other 
providers whilst we will continue 
developing our own core games and 
technological infrastructure we will 
carefully select “bestofbreed” partners 
to provide us with additional games 
particularly those with a local flavour 
which will assist us in penetrating local 
markets the first of these games is being 
introduced and we plan to leverage this 
infrastructure investment and integrate 
various additional games in the coming 
years with a number already in the 
pipeline for 2008 this capability will 
enable us to leverage the internet’s “long 
tail” phenomena as we have no “real 
estate” costs in putting more games into 
our software client the introduction of 
additional games even if they will only  
be played by a small percentage of our 
customers will have a positive return  
on investment 
one of the key focuses of our 
development effort was the integration of 
a sport betting platform into our offering 
this process was successfully completed 
towards the end of the year and the 
service was recently launched we have 
also introduced a livedealer solution with 
our asian partner entertasia which will 
increase our presence in the asian 
market early 2008 saw the introduction 
of 888ladies which is positioned to 
appeal to a whole new market for the 
group with these new products we now 
have a strong and complete portfolio 
with our business based on the four core 
pillars of casino poker sportsbetting 
and bingo together with supplementary 
backgammon and livedealer products 
during the year we managed to upgrade 
and improve all of our existing platforms 
introducing new casino and poker 
versions with additional games innovative 
features and a better overall interactive 
customer experience one such 
enhancement was the introduction of our 
firstever branded game – the “blond 
legend” video slot which was an 
immediate success and another was our 
innovative poker client allowing users to 
choose a 3d or 2d view with a rotating 
table and various additional features 
finally given the focus on geographic 
expansion we succeeded in completing 
the translation and localisation of all our 
casino games into the 14 languages we 
currently support on top of expanding our 
language proposition with two brand new 
languages this major effort resulted in 
an immediate increase in revenues in 
markets which previously were not 
supported by a fully localised product 
as in previous years we were proud  
to see our innovative marketleading 
offering being selected for various 
awards including the prestigious c a s i n o	
o f 	 th e 	 y e a r award both in the egaming 
and the online gambling awards 
from a marketing perspective 2007 was 
focused on additional brand building 
innovative marketing tools loyalty 
increasing programmes and a significant 
drive on local and integrated marketing 
efforts overall we had a very good year 
in which we managed to grow our 
business whilst keeping marketing spend 
at 33 of ngr
in terms of brand building we have 
invested in relaunching the 888 brand in 
conjunction with our “enjoy the game” 
tagline across all media channels and 
markets this new campaign delivered 
our best ever brand awareness as 
reflected in surveys conducted in the  
uk and spain this campaign was a 
milestone in our brand building efforts
for the first time ever in 2007 we invested 
in web 20 marketing channels including 
viral campaigns based on a combination 
of professionally crafted and user 
generated content we have also 
integrated various additional innovative 
online marketing tools in various areas 
especially in the search engine domain 
which allowed us to keep our marketing 
costs within the challenging budget that 
had been set
customer relationship management 
“crm” has always been one of our core 
competencies with our industry leading 
service levels and the personal service 
we are known to provide to our 
customers 2007 saw further 
enhancements with the publication of the 
first two issues of our premium customer 
magazine “eight” our improved loyalty 
programme and implementation of 
improved communication and 
promotional tools coupled with our 
worldfamous vip programme our crm 
approach has ensured a very successful 
2007 in terms of customers’ lifetime value 
and loyalty 
our marketing success in 2007 relied fully 
on a localised and integrated approach 
we implemented better coordination 
across the group and comprehensive 
monitoring of our activities in every 
market we signed more local tv deals 
across europe and benefited from 
extensive international coverage of our 
successful sponsorships of the world 
snooker championship and sevilla 
football club the outcome of these 
localisation efforts is apparent in our 
numbers which show far better 
geographical diversification with our 
european market increasing to 42 of 
our business in 2007 compared to 36 
in 2006 we are most satisfied with our 
growth across various markets and will 
continue investing in localised integrated 
marketing efforts in 2008 as we continue 
to penetrate yet more new markets  888 holdings public limited company  the most significant strategic move in  
the year was our decision to expand  
our pure businesstoconsumer business 
model with a combined approach  
which includes working with carefully 
selected strategic businesstobusiness 
partners under the “powered by 888” 
endorsement we have launched a new 
line of business as a service provider to 
virtual operators we launched three new 
partnerships in 2007 with rileys in the 
uk tower torneos in latin america and 
luckyace in europe more such 
partnerships will follow with several 
already in the pipeline
this new area of our business received a 
significant boost with our acquisition of 
the bingo assets of globalcom in may 
2007 this transaction positioned 888 at 
the forefront of online bingo service 
providers serving leading business 
partners such as cashcade operating 
foxy bingo bingo scotland and a 
number of other wellknown brands we 
have already secured additional bingo 
deals including with winkbingo a newly 
launched bingo network
while the core of our business remains in 
the businesstoconsumer area this new 
approach enables us to better leverage 
our investments and generate additional 
revenues and profit streams from market 
segments where penetration would 
require significant additional effort and 
marketing spend this activity has already 
contributed to our bottom line in 2007 
and is expected to grow in importance in 
the coming years as we announce new 
deals our success resulted in the best 
l a n d  l i n k s 	 p a r tn e r s h i p award in the 
egaming awards is a clear indication of 
the innovative nature of our approach in 
this area
during 2007 we successfully integrated 
our acquired bingo assets which now 
work as a seamless part of our business 
on top of this successful integration we 
have managed to accelerate the growth 
of the bingo business which grew 
phenomenally throughout the year this 
now proven ability to acquire value
enhancing assets and integrate them into 
our business underlines the validity of our 
ma approach and therefore we will 
continue to look for the right opportunities 
to supplement our strong organic growth 
in addition to our strong financial  
results our overall performance was 
acknowledged in our securing for the 
first time the best betting and gambling 
c o m p a n y award in the 2007 leisure 
report awards 
finally we continue to be indebted to our 
fantastic team of employees who have 
succeeded in delivering the outstanding 
2007 results we have a phenomenal 
team at all levels with extremely talented 
individuals who are led by a worldclass 
management team to maintain this team 
and ensure their ongoing motivation we 
continue to strive to be the employer of 
choice these efforts have resulted in 
successful new recruits into the group 
our employees will remain a key part of 
our focus in the years to come 
regulation
while the regulatory landscape remains 
unstable in some regions 2007 saw 
some positive developments in europe 
the european court of justice’s ruling  
in the placanica case restated the 
importance of eu regulations to our 
industry this decision together with the 
recent infringement actions and position 
letters from the european commission 
marks a very positive development 
enabling eu licensed operators such as 
888 to provide their services throughout 
the european union moreover we have 
seen a trend throughout the year of 
additional european jurisdictions 
embarking on a path to license and 
regulate online gaming a route which  
we clearly welcome 
outside of europe we have seen initial 
signs of positive regulation both in asia
pacific and latin america where newly 
introduced regulations in some 
jurisdictions could allow us to benefit from 
working in a locally licensed environment 
as previously stated we see these to be 
very positive developments as we 
continue to pursue a clear regulatory 
framework for all jurisdictions in which  
we operate we will continue to monitor 
the regulatory landscape and to look  
for opportunities to operate in  
regulated markets
as stated in our announcement dated 
5 june 2007 we have initiated preliminary 
discussions with the united states 
attorney’s office for the southern district 
of new york relating to our activity in  
the us prior to the signing of the uigea 
it is too early to assess any particular 
outcome of these discussions
responsible gaming
2007 was also a turning point in our 
approach to responsible gaming  
whilst 888 has always been a leader  
in supporting the prevention of problem 
and underage gambling we recruited  
a dedicated executive to handle these 
important issues we have as a result 
introduced both enhanced tools and 
policies giving us an even tighter control 
on problem and underage gamblers 
these efforts were acknowledged  
by gamcare who awarded us their 
responsible gambling certificate 
recently our educational efforts 
developed even further with the 
introduction of www888responsible
com a website dedicated for providing 
access to tools which identify and deal 
with problem gambling this industryfirst 
educational effort and our additional 
activities in the area mark our continued 
commitment to prevent problem and 
underage gambling
our 2008 focus
2008 will see the continued execution of 
our strategy with accelerated innovation 
facilitated by the investment made in our 
infrastructure in 2007 now that we have 
delivered all of the required products 
chief executive’s review cont
best operator of the year – 2007 annual report  accounts 2007  developed integration capabilities and 
white labelling capability together with  
a far deeper localised offering we  
can focus on the monetisation of  
these assets 
in terms of our offering our plans include 
the introduction of several new games 
with a strong focus on localised games 
which will continue to support our push 
into new markets we will continue  
to develop our relationships with third 
party games providers to ensure that  
we will not miss any exciting potential 
“hit” games we will also introduce 
various new innovative features such as 
increased personalisation tournaments 
around casino games and more  
content and entertainment across  
our product portfolio
from a marketing perspective 2008 will 
see further investment in our brand and 
the use of additional innovative marketing 
channels we will also introduce some 
major events such as the recently 
launched us3 million world poker 
crown poker tournament and a major 
event planned for 8 august 2008 – the 
“888” date 
on the businesstobusiness front we 
aim to sign and launch more strategic 
partnership deals as a means to 
accelerate our growth 
outlook
2008 has started well especially with  
our recently introduced femaleoriented 
bingo proposition 888ladies this 
innovative website which already boasts 
thousands of active customers daily is 
performing above our expectations 
the recent launch of our sportsbetting 
proposition 888sport is already 
generating revenues and coupled  
with several more planned product 
launches we expect our offering to 
continue being one of the main  
growth drivers of our business
with our current strategic partnerships 
performing well we are progressing with 
additional potential partners and we 
expect at least one new partnership to  
be launched in 2008 
given the positive start to 2008 the 
successful launch of 888ladies and 
888sport our strategic partnership deals 
current trading and our clear business 
strategy and focus we are confident in 
delivering future growth during 2008
gigi levy
chief executive officer 888 holdings public limited company  0
e n h a n c e d b u s i n e s s 
r e v i e w
2 0 07
in 2007 888 continued to follow its strategy 
of expanding and diversifying its business 
introduction 
888 holdings plc is one of the world’s 
most popular online gaming  
entertainment companies 888 owns  
and operates various world renowned 
websites including www888com www
casinoonnetcom wwwpacificpoker
com www888ladiescom and 
www888sportcom 
in 2007 888 continued to follow its 
strategy of expanding and diversifying its 
business on the basis of this strong 
foundation during the year 888 acquired 
the business and assets of a market 
leading bingo network operator it added 
the inhouse developed backgammon to 
its offering and an online sportsbook 
licensed in italy recent additions include 
the global rollout of an international 
sportsbook offering in six european 
countries in a key strategic move 888 has 
also expanded its business model 
leveraging its existing assets and brand 
reputation by licensing its software and 
unique services to carefully selected 
“white label” partners who allow 888 to 
penetrate new markets 888 is indeed the 
home of online gaming entertainment 
2007 was 888’s first full year without a 
contribution from the us market after the 
cessation of its operations in that market in 
october 2006 it was a year characterised 
by rapid growth with a 38 increase in 
total operating income and a 106 
increase in profit before tax as the group 
refocused its activities on nonus markets 
by localising its product offerings and 
releasing more games in more languages 
than ever before
 
aviad kobrine 
chief financial officer
the addition of casino games into the 
poker client has dramatically increased the 
revenue stream from 888’s traditional core 
product and has signalled continued 
progress towards the ultimate goal of 
providing all of its offerings through a 
single unified client in addition 888’s 
offering benefited from the addition of 
backgammon to its suite of games and 
also enhanced the appeal of existing 
games by adding both contemporary and 
themed games such as the sports themed 
“rough rugby” and marilyn monroe 
inspired “blond legend” video slots 
the immediate success of 888’s new 
white label strategy was demonstrated by 
the partnerships developed with tower 
torneos in latin america rileys poker in 
the uk and lucky ace in europe
888’s italian customers have enjoyed the 
launch of a dedicated online sportsbook 
proposition which has not only provided 
invaluable experience from 888’s first foray 
into this product type but also through  
its licensing by the italian government 
further validated 888’s regulatory and 
licensing credentials 
in addition to its organic growth and in
house development 888 completed  
its first ever acquisition through the 
acquisition of the assets comprising the 
online bingo business of globalcom ltd  
in may 2007 this business has now been 
successfully integrated into 888’s existing 
operations 
 	 	 e x c l u d i n g 	 s h a r e 	 b e n e fi t 	 c h a r g e s 	 o f 	 u s  7  8 	 m i l l i o n 	  2 0 0 6  	 u s  8  8 	 m i l l i o n   	 c o n t i n u i n g 	 o p e r a t i o n s 	 annual report  accounts 2007  review of financial results
financial summary
    year ended year ended  
   31 december 31 december  
   2007 2006  
   us million us million  change
net gaming revenue
  casino   1181 888 33
  poker     808 682 1 8
  emerging offerings    144 – –
total net gaming revenue   2134
1
 1570 3 6
other operating income   36 – –
total operating income   2169
1
 1570 3 8
operating expenses
2
   591 456 
research and development expenses   235 194 
selling and marketing costs   709 510 
administrative expenses
3
   179 246 
ebitda
2
   455 164 1 7 7
finance income and exchange gains   61 96 
depreciation and amortisation   58 38 
profit before tax – continuing operations
4
   458 222 1 0 6
1 	 r o u n d e d 
2 	 e x c l u d i n g 	 d e p r e c i a t i o n 	 o f 	 u s  4  2 	 m i l l i o n 	  2 0 0 6  	 u s  3  8 	 m i l l i o n  	 a n d 	 a m o r t i s a t i o n 	 o f 	 u s  1  6 	 m i l l i o n 	  2 0 0 6  	 u s  n i l  
3 	 e x c l u d i n g 	 e x c h a n g e 	 g a i n 	 o f 	 u s  1  1 	 m i l l i o n 	  2 0 0 6  	 u s  4  7 	 m i l l i o n  
4 	 e x c l u d i n g 	 s h a r e 	 b e n e fi t 	 c h a r g e s 	 o f 	 u s  7  8 	 m i l l i o n 	  2 0 0 6  	 u s  8  8 m i l l i o n  
888 has achieved a great deal in 2007 and will continue to explore all 
opportunities to meet its goal of becoming the largest community of 
people who play online for money
at the end of 2007 888 entered into a deal 
with blue square which allows the group 
to offer a sportsbetting product to all of its 
customers in early 2008 this deal 
completes the group’s aim to provide a 
“one stop” betting and gaming proposition 
to its customers as an added benefit 888 
has moved closer towards its goal of 
providing a full multicurrency offering 
the bingo acquisition and the partnership 
with blue square represent new 
previously unexplored growth avenues 
the addition of the bingo business is the 
first time 888 has opted for growth by 
acquisition and demonstrates its ability to 
identify execute and integrate profitable 
external opportunities 
2007 was 888’s tenth anniversary and  
as in previous years 888’s excellence  
and market leading position was 
acknowledged by third parties 888 was 
recently awarded best betting and 
g a m in g 	 c o m p a n y at the leisure report 
awards 2007 c a s in o 	 o f 	 t h e 	 y e a r and  
b es t 	 l a n d  lin k s 	 p a r t n e r s h i p at the 
egaming awards 2007 as well as c a s in o	
o f 	 t h e 	 y e a r at the gambling online  
awards 2007 888 holdings public limited company  financial results 
total operating income and ngr
the group achieved strong financial 
results in 2007 with ngr increasing by 
36 to us2134 million 2006 
us1570 million total operating 
income increasing by 38 to us2169 
million 2006 us1570 million ebitda
1
 
increasing by 177 to us455 million 
2006 us164 million and profit before 
tax
1
 from continuing operations 
increasing 106 to us458 million 
2006 us222 million 
ngr increased strongly in both casino 
and poker and also from the introduction 
of new products “emerging offerings” 
these products particularly the newly 
acquired bingo business since 17 may 
2007 generated us144 million ngr in 
2007 in 2007 the group introduced for 
the first time the option for customers to 
transact in their local currency and as a 
result other operating income has been 
generated representing fees from 
processing customers’ crosscurrency 
deposits and withdrawals effectively 
reducing costs associated with payment 
service providers
geographical segmentation 
as the table below illustrates in 2007 
europe excluding the uk showed 
dramatic growth of 58 with strong 
growth from both poker and casino 
followed by the uk which grew by  
32 the rest of the world mostly 
attributable to the asiapacific region 
also grew rapidly by 35 compared to 
2006 growth in the americas excluding 
the usa was modest 
as a result of the strong revenue growth 
during the year in europe excluding the 
uk this region now represents 42 of 
888’s total operating income compared 
to 36 in 2006 
enhanced business review cont
total operating income by geographical market
 year ended year ended  
 31 december 31 december  
 2007 2006  2007 growth
total operating income us million  share us million  share 
uk 930 43 706 45 32
europe excl uk 901 42 571 36 58
americas excluding usa 180 8 176 11 2
rest of world 159 7 118 8 35
total 2169 100 1570 100 38
 	 r o u n d e d 
casino 
the casino business was one of the 
main drivers for the group’s strong 
revenue growth in 2007 with a ngr 
increase of 33 to us1181 million 
2006 us888 million the continued 
localisation of the casino software client 
by providing the offering in additional 
languages and the introduction of the 
casino games into the poker client  
was an instant success and was the 
source of much of this growth this 
growth demonstrates the high  
potential for crossselling services  
in a unified offering 
1 	 e x c l u d i n g 	 s h a r e 	 b e n e fi t 	 c h a r g e s 	 o f 	 u s  7  8 	 m i l l i o n 	  2 0 0 6  	 u s  8  8 	 m i l l i o n  
casino growth was driven predominantly 
by the popularity of 888’s ever expanding 
selection of video slot machines video 
slot bet levels increased year on year by 
a staggering 108 it is expected that 
this trend will continue well into 2008 and 
is anticipated to be boosted by the 
planned integration of a wide variety of 
new third party games the continued 
popularity of roulette and blackjack 
supported continued growth that has 
resulted in an improvement to overall 
house edge on casino games house 
edge increased from 29 in 2006 to 
31 in 2007 the group will continue to 
encourage customers to migrate towards 
its higher margin games
poker 
the poker business also delivered strong 
growth in 2007 with ngr increase of 
18 to us808 million 2006 us682 
million this growth was driven mainly by 
the popular texas hold”em and omaha 
ring games which appeal to a broad 
spectrum of customers the attraction  
of ring games resulted in a 25 growth 
in bet levels compared to 2006 the 
group’s tournaments benefited from  
the introduction in june of “rebuy”   annual report  accounts 2007  and “addon” functionality poker  
growth was also driven by the 
introduction of the white label business 
model – the launch of rileys poker  
and the tower torneos offering
for consistency ngr from poker 
excludes ngr generated by customers 
playing casino games from the poker 
platform which increased overall revenue 
and helped retain customers for longer 
emerging offerings
emerging offerings contributed 
us144 million of ngr during the year 
representing 68 of total ngr this 
revenue is primarily generated by the 
bingo business acquired in may 2007 
but also by the newly introduced 
backgammon offering april 2007 it is 
expected that these new games will 
generate higher ngr in 2008
the group’s bingo business generates 
royalty revenue both from its position as 
a software licensor and network provider 
to a number of popular household name 
brands such as wwwthinkbingocom 
and wwwfoxybingocom and also ngr 
from customers playing on the group’s 
own websites including www888ladies
com and wwwbingoballroomcom 
over the short time that the 
backgammon has been available its 
main benefit has been as a retention  
tool and an expansion to the range of 
entertainment products on offer enabling 
the group to service a dedicated market 
segment allowing casual customers the 
opportunity to test their skills 
expenses
effective cost control during the year  
has resulted in slower expense growth 
than revenue growth with expenses
2
 
increasing by only 22 compared to 
38 total operating income growth 
salaries and benefits representing  
the largest component of operating 
expenses increased by 30 to 
us310 million 2006 us238 million  
the additional headcount related to the 
bingo business and the expansion of the 
group’s regional focus were a major 
source of this increase modest salary 
increase and headcount increases 
across the business contributed  
the remainder 
the second largest cost item in 
operating expenses is commissions paid 
to payment service providers which 
totalled us134 million 2006 us91 
million representing 63 of ngr 2006 
58 when stripping out emerging 
offerings this ratio stands in 2007 at a 
comparable 60
the group places strong emphasis  
on risk management procedures  
which resulted in a decrease in its 
chargeback ratio to 13 of ngr  
in 2007 2006 16
intangible assets from the bingo 
acquisition were amortised during the 
year which contributed an additional 
noncash expense of us16 million  
2006 nil to operating expenses
the continued investment in the group’s 
products aimed at expanding the range 
and appeal of its offering has resulted in 
an increase in research and development 
expenses in 2007 by 21 to us235 
million 2006 us194 million this 
increase directly relates to headcount 
expansion and salary increase in order  
to attract and retain a highly skilled 
workforce as the group develops most 
its proprietary software internally
 
marketing expenses during the year 
reached us709 million 2006 us510 
million representing a stable rate of 33 
of ngr demonstrating sustained 
marketing efficiency in 2007 the group 
focused on a rapid expansion of its 
affiliate channels this expansion 
enabled cost control per new customer 
acquisition and a means of quickly 
penetrating new markets attracting 
valuable new customers at the right  
cost is a key driver of 888’s business 
profitability in 2007 the group continued 
to be focused on attracting and 
retaining customers from selected 
segments which are most profitable and 
optimising the recruitment channel to 
cost during the year 888’s marketing 
operations recruited more than 260000 
new casino and poker first time 
depositors “ftds” from more than a 
million new real money registrations with 
an average cost per acquisition “cpa” 
in 2007 of us225 2006 us183
3

administrative expenses
4
 decreased by 
15 to us169 million 2006 us198 
million mainly driven by the departure of 
the former chief executive officer which 
triggered a nonrecurring payment of 
us275 million professional fees also 
decreased as postuigea the group 
looked to balance the change in costs of 
this nature 
2 	 	 e x p e n s e s 	 i n c l u d e 	 o p e r a t i n g 	 e x p e n s e s 	  e x c l u d i n g 	 s h a r e 	 b e n e fi t 	 c h a r g e s   	 r e s e a r c h 	 a n d 	 d e v e l o p m e n t  	 s e l l i n g 	 a n d 	 m a r k e t i n g  	 a n d 	 a d m i n i s t r a t i v e 	 e x p e n s e s 
3 	 	 e x c l u d i n g 	 c u s t o m e r s 	 r e c r u i t e d 	 o n 	 a 	 r e v e n u e 	 s h a r e 	 b a s i s 
4 	 	 2 0 0 7 	 e x c l u d i n g 	 s h a r e 	 b e n e fi t 	 c h a r g e s 	 o f 	 u s  7  8 	 m i l l i o n 	  2 0 0 6  	 u s  8  8 	 m i l l i o n   888 holdings public limited company  share benefit charges
as part of 888’s commitment to invest in 
human capital eligible management and 
employees received in the past equity 
awards under the 888 all employee 
share plan “share plan” in 2007 as in 
2006 the group continued to award 
shares and options to employees under 
the terms of the share plan the non
cash charge for 2007 was us78 million 
2006 us88 million comprising a 
us18 million charge relating to grants 
in the current year 2006 us25 million 
and us60 million relating to grants 
made in the past 
finance income
with the group continuing to generate 
and retain cash surpluses throughout the 
year net interest income remained stable 
at us50 million 2006 us49 million
profit and earnings per share
as a result of strong revenue growth 
stable marketing to turnover ratio 
maintaining strong cost control and 
better management of resources profit 
before tax increased dramatically  
by 106 to us458 million 2006  
us222 million 
profit before tax from continuing 
operations delivered a margin of 21 
2006 14 further testament to the 
group’s strong operational gearing 
throughout the year a remarkable 
achievement given the changes imposed 
by discontinuing its offering in the us 
while the group did not operate in  
the us in 2007 the small loss from 
discontinued operations related to  
legal fees incurred in connection with  
its past activities 
basic earnings per share more than 
doubled at 126 cents in 2007 2006  
56 cents
 
dividend 
the group’s stated policy is that it 
anticipates adopting an annual dividend 
payment ratio of approximately 50 of 
profit but the policy would reflect long
term earnings and cash flow potential of 
the group on 31 october 2007 the 
company paid an interim dividend of  
18 cents per share totalling us61 
million 2006 interim dividend totalling 
us231 million in 2006 the dividend 
included earnings from discontinued 
operations given the strong financial 
performance in 2007 the board 
recommends a final dividend of  
50 cents per share 
cash flow
the group’s strong profitability  
during the year was matched by  
strong cash generation with cash 
generated from operating activities 
reaching us462 million 
during 2007 the group made cash 
payments of us200 million in respect 
of investing activities 2006 us36 
million primarily relating to the  
bingo acquisition
in addition the group returned 
us362 million 2006 us287 million 
in dividends to its shareholders 
consistent with its dividend policy
the group’s cash position as at 
31 december 2007 remained strong  
at us1043 million 31 december 2006 
us1144 million this is a positive 
position given that the group has  
no debt
balance sheet
the group’s balance sheet remains 
strong as it has no debt but retains 
ample liquid resources including the 
ability to repay all customers’ balances 
on demand at any time 
as a result of the bingo acquisition 888 
recognised intangible assets and 
goodwill totalling us407 million after 
the amortisation of intangibles of us15 
million in the year goodwill valued at 
us379 million 2006 usnil was not 
impaired at 31 december 2007 as per a 
review performed by the board
cash and cash equivalents as at 31 
december 2007 remained strong at 
us1043 million 31 december 2006 
us1144 million the slight decrease in 
the cash position during the year despite 
strong cash inflows from operations of 
us493 million is a result of the 
consideration paid in respect of the 
bingo acquisition of us171 million and 
payment of dividends of us362 million 
2006 us287 million to shareholders
trade receivables have increased to 
us134 million 2006 us62 million 
the increase resulting from higher 
payment processing activity during the 
year which peaked towards the end of 
the year most balances were fully settled 
immediately after the start of 2008
deferred consideration of us251 million 
payable in respect of the bingo 
acquisition is the main reason for the 
increase in trade and other payables by 
us351 million to us630 million 2006  
us279 million 
balances owed to customers increased 
by 17 to us264 million 2006 
us227 million representing growth in 
business volume in part being due to the 
new bingo activity
888’s strategy 
888’s goal is to create the largest 
community of people who play online for 
money and grow its annual revenue and 
profit numbers to a level greater than 
when its us business closed in october 
2006 to achieve this goal 888 must 
enhanced business review cont
 	 2 0 0 7 	 e x c l u d i n g 	 s h a r e 	 b e n e fi t 	 c h a r g e s 	 o f 	 u s  7  8 	 m i l l i o n 	  2 0 0 6  	 u s  8  8 	 m i l l i o n   annual report  accounts 2007  give its customers the ultimate customer 
experience whilst maintaining focus on 
acquiring and retaining customers by 
delivering a compelling localised 
innovative and unique offering given its 
2007 success 888 remains committed 
to its strategy the main cornerstones of 
which are 
thinking global while acting local
enhanced and innovative offering
state of the art integrated marketing
customer intimacy 
market leading customer service
focused efficient and effective 
organisation
employer of choice
thinking global while acting local
p r o v i d i n g 	 t h e 	 r i g h t 	 c u s t o m e r 	 e x p e r i e n c e	
m u s t 	 h a v e 	 a 	 l o c a l 	 fl a v o u r 
the withdrawal from the us market 
meant that 888’s principle of “thinking 
global while acting local” became more 
important than ever aiming to penetrate 
new markets simultaneously 888 had to 
quickly enhance its local focus in 2007 
888 achieved a greater regional focus 
and localisation than ever before all of 
888’s casino games were provided in 14 
languages with full customer support 
the payment system backbone was  
also upgraded to allow multicurrency 
deposits and withdrawals these 
features succeeded in generating 
additional revenues immediately 888 will 
continue to be focused on improving 
localisation in 2008 and beyond by 
enhancing its offering with even more 
local games 
enhanced and innovative offering
o f f e r i n g 	 a 	 f u l l 	 r a n g e 	 o f 	 e n t e r t a i n m e n t	
o p t i o n s 	 t o 	 c u s t o m e r s 
in 2007 888 launched its acquired bingo 
and inhouse proprietary backgammon 
offerings added additional video slot 
machines and upgraded the poker and 
casino versions the “onestop shop” 
unified offering was introduced enabling 
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
customers to play any game they want 
with easy access from one platform in 
quarter 1 of 2008 the sportsbetting 
offering was introduced which completes 
the desired range of offerings 888 aims 
to add more content information and 
community tools to its offering and 
through partnerships with alternative 
platform owners to spread this offering 
beyond internet boundaries into hotels 
airplanes and onto mobile telephones
state of the art integrated marketing
c r e a t i n g 	 a n 	 i n t e g r a t e d 	 m a r k e t i n g	
a p p r o a c h 	 b e t w e e n 	 c h a n n e l s 	 a n d	 
a c r o s s 	 t h e 	 c o m p a n y 
2007 saw 888 continue its extensive 
investment in its brand the “enjoy the 
game” tagline was introduced to the 888 
brand and reached phenomenal levels 
of brand recognition in both the uk and 
spain additional 888 brands were 
launched such as “888ladies” and 
“888sport” as part of the drive towards 
both increasing localisation and a more 
fully integrated marketing approach 888 
has identified local consultants in 
selected key markets for better 
coordination and monitoring of its 
activities in these markets 888 signed 
and launched initial strategic 
partnerships with rileys and tower 
torneos which allow it greater 
penetration to distinct local markets  
888 plans to sign further similar 
partnership deals in 2008
customer intimacy us i n g 	 k n o w l e d g e	
a b o u t 	 c u s t o m e r s 	 t o 	 o p t i m i s e 	 t h e i r	
c u s t o m e r 	 e x p e r i e n c e 	 w h i l e 	 p r i o r i t i s i n g	
r e s o u r c e 	 a l l o c a t i o n 	
888 has continued its focus on studying 
its customers’ online behaviour more 
closely in order to improve its knowledge 
of their betting habits and preferences 
from direct contact with customers by 
market research of their behaviour and 
through a detailed analysis of trends 
using its inhouse data warehouse 888 
has continued to refine how best to 
engage thrill and retain its customers 
market leading customer service 
p r o v i d i n g 	 t h e 	 i n d u s t r y ’ s 	 b e s t 	 c u s t o m e r	
service
the drive towards increased penetration 
into new markets was coupled with the 
need to expand customer support to 
nonenglish languages as part of these 
significant changes 888 achieved its 
best ever results in its customer 
satisfaction surveys 
focused efficient and effective 
organisation r e m a i n i n g 	 c o m p e t i t i v e	 
b y 	 h a v i n g	a n	e f fi c i e n t l y	r u n	o p e r a t i o n	
m a i n t a i n i n g	i t s	f o c u s	o n	8 8 8 ’ s	p a r t i c u l a r	
p l a n s	a n d 	 g o a l s 	
2007 saw 888 achieve a 38 increase  
in revenue with only a 9 increase in 
yearend headcount in 2008 888  
will continue with strong cost control  
to ensure high profitability levels are 
maintained and further improved 
employer of choice a i m i n g 	 t o 	 b e 	 t h e	
e m p l o y e r 	 o f 	 c h o i c e 
888’s most important asset is its human 
capital 888 has a skilled committed 
workforce who have remained with the 
group since the early days and these 
have been joined by highly talented 
employees who have been recruited 
during the last year it would not have 
been possible to achieve the 
phenomenal results in 2007 without the 
enormous efforts of these employees 
888 aims to retain its employees ensure 
their motivation and to attract further 
leading talent to secure future success 
by continuing to be the employer of 
choice in the market
2007 business developments
marketing and crm
2007 was a busy and highly successful 
year for 888’s industry leading marketing 
activities the marketing function was 
restructured under four key work
streams acquisition retention branding 
• thinking global while acting local • enhanced and innovative offering
• state of the art integrated marketing • customer intimacy 
• market leading customer service
• focused efficient and effective organisation • employer of choice 888 holdings public limited company  and white label partnerships this has 
enabled solid performance of the 
business in terms of acquisition and 
retention in addition to allowing significant 
focus on the three priority areas
branding and integrated marketing
customer relationship management
strategic partnershipswhite labels
branding
for a number of years the group has 
enjoyed the highest level of brand 
awareness in the sector in its key 
markets “888” has always been 
associated with reliability trust and 
leading customer service all of which are 
important attributes for the success of 
the business in 2007 the group started 
to build on this awareness with a strong 
differentiated and more emotionally 
persuasive brand positioning www888
com “enjoy the game” during 2007  
the group rolled out its first ever tv 
campaign supported by press and 
signage across the uk and in a number 
of other territories by the end of 2007 
the brand saw significant improvement  
in key brand attributes
the clear focused brand positioning also 
enabled more integrated marketing in 
2007 there was considerable focus 
behind fully integrated marketing 
campaigns leveraging consistent and 
complementary messages across all 
marketing channels this resulted in 
communication with a real impact which 
attracted more first time depositors and 
reinforced retention activities
customer relationship management
as the group evolves it continues to 
recognise the significance of a well 
resourced customer relationship 
management department as such 888 
has continued to invest substantially in 
both financial and human resource terms 
in the crm department in 2007
the crm team is tasked with both 
creating loyalty and augmenting 
•
•
•
expenditure by ensuring that customers 
both play and stay with the group for as 
long as they continue to e n j o y 	 t h e 	 g a m e  
playing more games more often and  
for more time this customer loyalty  
is generated via two departments one 
focusing on the group’s mass market 
customer base and the other 
concentrating on vip customers
the crm team continuously seeks  
to innovate the range of promotions 
bonuses and communication channels 
whilst segmentation methods ensure that 
the relevant message reaches the right 
customer at the most opportune time an 
excellent example of this approach is the 
888 customer magazine “eight” delivered 
to customers in the uk this magazine is 
a tool seeking to reinforce loyalty and 
ultimately spend ratios 
the vip department ensures that the 
group builds a real oneonone personal 
relationship with vips so that 888 
remains their online gaming provider  
of choice this approach has ensured  
a very successful 2007 in terms of 
customer lifespan and their playing 
revenues with the group 
these customer relationships have  
been strengthened by the group’s 
commitment to localisation 
in 2008 with the introduction of 
additional core products together with 
sophisticated new communication and 
loyalty tools the crm team will be  
able to even better segment and 
communicate with its customer base to 
ensure effective crossselling and up
selling of the group’s enhanced portfolio 
of products
strategic alliances
2007 was the year in which the group 
became a “white label” provider under 
the “powered by 888” endorsement the 
group launched a new line of business 
as a service provider to third parties with 
their particular skill sets and target 
audiences 888 initially entered into  
three partnerships
r i l e y s 	 p o k e r  rileys famous for their 
chain of snooker halls sought to refocus 
their business behind inhall poker 
tournaments 888 created a distinctive 
proposition for the poker community 
enjoying a unique environment 
integrating both the online and offline 
version of rileys poker this partnership 
was acknowledged by the industry when 
888 received the 2007 landlinks 
p a r t n e r s h i p 	 o f 	 t h e 	 y e a r award at the 
egaming awards
t o w e r 	 t o r n e o s  tower torneos “tt” are 
already an established casino operator 
in latin america with an online poker 
room 888 worked with tt to provide  
an improved online offering and 
successfully transferred tt’s existing 
customers to the new gaming client 
“powered by 888” this created an 
immediate and strong foothold in the 
latin america region for the group 
generated significant liquidity for the 
poker platform and opened new 
marketing channels in the region 
previously unavailable to the group
lu c k y ac e  luckyace is led by a team of 
gaming industry veterans with a track 
record of customer recruitment and 
traffic generation luckyacepoker and 
luckyacecasino brands are a powerful 
combination of 888’s added value 
platform with the luckyace online 
marketing expertise luckyace is 
focusing on rapidly growing european 
markets and will operate in parallel to 
888’s own brands boosting market 
share in these high potential territories 
the new strategic alliances part of 888’s 
business received a significant boost 
with the acquisition of the bingo 
business positioning the group right at 
the forefront of bingo service providers 
while 2007 focused mainly on poker 
partnerships in 2008 888 will focus on 
enhanced business review cont annual report  accounts 2007  providing an integrated product offering 
to business partners encompassing 
poker casino bingo and sportsbetting 
888 intends to launch several new 
integrated poker and casino 
partnerships throughout the year
in addition to these priority areas other 
marketing channels have continued to 
drive acquisition and retention
online
the online marketing department has 
undergone significant developments in 
the past year recruiting a large portion of 
the company’s new customers through 
its multidepartment expertise this 
department implemented an array of 
online branding and directresponse 
advertising campaigns targeting a wide 
range of customer segments the 
department also experimented at the 
leading edge of online marketing running 
campaigns using viral marketing user
generated video content and several 
other web 20 trends there was 
considerable growth in relationships  
with technology providers advertising 
networks and publishers which 
contributed to increased performance  
in new and existing online campaigns 
sales
the affiliates department achieved 
considerable growth in 2007 led by a 
drive to register new affiliates to the 
group’s programme there was a focus 
on customised sponsorship promotions 
with new and existing affiliate partners 
and this contributed significantly to 
increased commitment and investment 
from these partners
during quarter 4 there was a drive to 
emphasise the role of offline activation 
activities for poker these new offline 
marketing techniques and promotions 
attracted many new customers and  
the group will continue to invest in a 
multitude of new marketing channels  
in 2008
search and web optimisation 
technologies “swot”
swot is much more than traditional 
simple search engine optimisation 
“seo” 2007 was a strong year for 
swot where acquisition of new 
customers via search engine traffic 
increased significantly across the whole 
business and especially in the uk 
2008 will bring new customer acquisition 
opportunities with the introduction of  
the “888sport” sportsbook and the 
“888ladies” bingo brands and there  
are a number of web 20 plans in  
various regions
offline
2007 was another successful year for  
the group’s offline marketing around  
the world
888 launched a number of campaigns  
in latin america including shirt 
sponsorship of club nationale in 
uruguay tv poker programming across 
the region behind the 888 and tower 
torneos brands as well as tournaments 
supported by a series of magazine and 
national press advertising
in australia 888 launched the 888poker 
brand offline through a heavyweight 
outdoor campaign in sydney on the  
bus and train networks supported with 
national press and magazine activities 
across europe 888 had another year of 
major success with the shirt sponsorship 
of sevilla fc sevilla won the uefa cup 
for the second consecutive year the 
spanish cup copa del rey and finished 
third in the spanish premier league  
la liga
in the uk the coming into force of the 
gambling act 2005 opened the way  
for the group to launch television 
advertising 888 retained london’s 
leading creative agency chi  partners 
to deliver a uk based branding 
campaign across all marketing channels 
behind the new positioning “enjoy  
the game” 
the group’s ongoing sponsorship of the 
world snooker championship in 
sheffield generated over 140 hours of 
television coverage on the bbc and 
eurosport and was rebroadcast globally 
888 also generated over 80 hours of its 
own poker content in 2007 which is 
syndicated globally in addition to existing 
content of the uk poker open the poker 
nations cup and the women’s poker 
tour 2007 saw the group becoming the 
presenting sponsor of the world heads 
up championships held in barcelona
2008 will prove to be an even bigger year 
for the group as 888 continues to build 
upon its brand having launched its 
sportsbook 888sport and its new 
bingo offering 888ladies in addition 
888 will run the biggest ever nonus 
facing online poker event of its kind 
branded the world poker crown with a 
us3 million guaranteed prize pool
offering and rd
casino
888’s major casino brand casino on 
net has consistently been ranked as the 
leading online casino brand in the world 
it continues to generate substantial 
business and despite the recent 
introduction of 888’s emerging offerings 
still represented more than 55 of the 
group’s ngr in 2007 2006 57 with 
ngr growth of 33 over the year and 
significantly with 60 growth between 
quarter 4 2007 us353 million and 
quarter 4 of 2006 us221 million
during 2007 888’s tenth anniversary 
year the group focused on retaining a 
contemporary feel to the casino adding 
more games and increasing the level of 
localisation while maintaining its core 
propositions of trust and simplicity 
combined with its first class customer  888 holdings public limited company  service listening to its customers 888 
has enhanced the customer experience 
by providing faster game play and by 
giving the customer greater choice over 
bet size 888 also continued to expand 
its casino offering it introduced a new 
gaming “ecosystem” which enables third 
party game developers to integrate their 
products seamlessly into 888’s gaming 
environment provided casino software 
to white labels and introduced a live 
dealer casino tailored for certain  
asian markets
the combination of trendy entertainment 
content consumed by customers 
worldwide together with a unique gaming 
experience is a key factor to 888’s 
success as it has increasingly become 
the entertainment destination of choice 
for more customers to this end 888 
added four new and unique video slots 
to increase game variety with the 
majority available in each of the 14 
languages including voice localisation 
which 888 supports 888 released its 
“rough rugby” slot to coincide with the 
rugby world cup and in october 2007 
released the “blond legend” video slot 
this video slot featuring “marilyn 
monroe” pictures provided by the “sam 
shaw collection” has proven very 
popular among customers 888 aims to 
identify further themed content for 
casino games both games ranked 
amongst the three most popular video 
slots in 888’s casino immediately upon 
their launch and made themed video 
slots one of the most significant 
acquisition and retention tools 888 has 
following this success 888 is planning 
to maintain its frontline position through 
internal development programmes as 
well as acquiring or licensing third party 
games to be integrated directly into 888’s 
gaming environment
 
2007 saw 888 move product localisation 
to the next level by enabling the 
establishment of partnerships with local 
providers these partnerships are 
possible as 888 has successfully opened 
its platform to third party games by 
providing an “integration platform” layer 
this “integration platform” enables the 
swift integration of third party games 
and will be used to add additional new 
and localised games adapted to 888’s 
own high standards to its casino 
offering during 2008 this will provide its 
customers with a large variety of quality 
entertainment and will contribute to 
customer acquisition by appealing to 
expanded demographics customer 
retention will be further reinforced by the 
excitement and the choice of an ever 
expanding proposition 
the group’s latest partnership was 
entered into with entertasia one of the 
leading providers of gaming solutions  
for the asian market through this 
partnership 888 has launched in 
january 2008 a live dealer casino 
offering baccarat asian roulette and  
sic bo these games are an entry level 
requirement to compete in the asian 
market and will be a key tool for growing 
888’s presence in this region 888 
continues to seek such partnerships and 
to integrate other localised games to 
further target the asian market
once again 888’s casino has 
maintained its position as the number 
one online casino the group was  
proud to receive the prestigious  
c a s i n o 	 o p e r a t o r 	 o f 	 t h e 	 y e a r award  
at the egaming awards in addition  
to the c a s i n o 	 o f 	 t h e 	 y e a r at the  
gambling online awards 2007
casino kpis
casino
year 2006 2007
quarter 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
ngr us’000 21496 22531 22646 22088 25952 27900 28992 35276
active customers  54053 48425 46444 41307 70769 72362 72847 73737
ngr per active customer us 398 465 488 535 367 386 398 478
 	 n g r 	 fi g u r e s 	 r o u n d e d 
enhanced business review cont annual report  accounts 2007  as can be seen from the previous table 
the casino experienced 60 ngr 
growth from quarter 4 of 2006 to quarter 
4 of 2007 the inclusion of casino games 
in the poker client at the end of 2006 
greatly increased the customer base and 
thus the number of quarterly active 
customers this resulted in a 42 
growth in quarterly active customers 
between quarter 1 and quarter 4 of 
2007 the increased number of active 
customers resulted in substantially higher 
growth in ngr in 2007 particularly in 
quarter 4 where ngr increased 22 to 
us353 million as a result of the sharp 
increase in active customer base in 
quarter 1 2007 ngr per active customer 
decreased but has been steadily 
increasing since and in quarter 4 2007 
reached us478 per active customer
during 2008 the group aims to use its 
strong technological crm data mining 
and optimisation capabilities to provide its 
customers with an even more intimate 
experience tailored to their preferences 
and playing habits 
while today 888’s offering is already fully 
localised in 2008 the group intends to 
extend this initiative it will introduce 
further localised versions of its popular 
games together with local games played 
in specific target markets it will also 
adapt its traditional casino games to the 
local preferences as best observed today 
in terrestrial casinos asian and latin 
american customers will continue to be 
at the core of 888’s focus
leveraging its multimillion dollar 
marketing budget and the strongest 
global brand in online gaming in 2008 
888 will launch www888debutcom a 
platform for third party game developers 
to debut themselves in the online gaming 
world and to make their product available 
on the stage of the world’s largest online 
gaming entertainment destination 888’s 
first integration with a third party provider 
is in its final stages and the first batch of 
games is aimed to be released during the 
first half of 2008
 
in order to complete the excitement and 
competitive environment which 888’s 
customers seek and to broaden its 
offering with additional gaming models 
the group also plans to introduce casino 
races and tournaments the group sees 
these events as additional marketing 
methods for enticing new customers and 
as a tool for retaining existing ones with 
its expertise in tournament management 
888 expects these events to form key 
part of its gaming environment
poker
poker operations also enjoyed strong 
growth in 2007 with ngr increasing by 
18 to us808 million 2006 us682 
million contributing 38 2006 43 of 
the group’s ngr this growth has been 
achieved by combining the commitment 
to its large legacy customer base with the 
introduction of new software features 
increasing the variety of tables and 
through the enrichment of 888’s  
existing tournaments
during the year 888 has demonstrated 
an ever increasing global reach the 
group has achieved further penetration in 
territories such as latin america and 
asiapacific and is operating a truly 
global 247 poker room in which 
customers can find their game of choice 
at the time of their choice 
888 has moved a step forward in 
addressing the increased retention 
requirements of its existing customers by 
integrating its casino games into the 
poker client the success of casino in 
poker led to the integration of 
backgammon and bingo in poker in 
2007 with sportsbook in poker 
integration planned for 2008 this 
integration strategy is the achievement of 
the group’s stated goal of delivering a 
unified offering and adding new revenue 
streams to existing ones and by 
capitalising on the synergies between 
888’s offerings
through 2007 and into 2008 the group 
has enriched its user experience in 2007 
888 added 3d tables with avatars 
alongside its 2d classic view tables while 
the 2d addresses the needs of high stake 
and multiple table poker customers the 
newly designed 3d tables with avatars 
have been very popular and became the 
table of choice for the majority of 
customers continuing this effort 888 is 
committed to developing features such 
as its newly introduced “chat callouts” 
which allow customers to get closer to a 
“livelike” user experience 
in addition in 2007 888 integrated 
backgammon into its unified poker client 
in order to enhance customer retention 
in 2008 888 plans to increase its 
backgammon liquidity by further 
localising the game by targeting new 
customer segments 888 also plans to 
integrate other local peer to peer games 
in different regions to make its gaming 
environment a one stop shop which 
includes globally popular games as well 
as locally popular ones 
2007 has also marked 888’s evolution  
to become a new “poker network” 
providing a full end to end solution for 
“white label” poker operators making 
888 itself a “poker network operator”  
as a poker network operator 888 
stands out by offering a complete 
solution in which existing operators can 
leverage their customer base and new 
operators can grow from scratch using 
the shared liquidity offered by 888’s 
network and the robust back office 
operation that the group provides 888 holdings public limited company  0
poker kpis
poker
year 2006 2007
quarter 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
ngr us’000 17857 16322 15686 18374 20918 19890 18590 21419
active customers 134710 122087 132995 147805 168066 166772 168105 170401
ngr per active customer us 133 134 118 124 124 119 111 126
 ngr figures rounded
as can be seen from the previous table 
888’s poker ngr grew by 18 in 2007 
during the year the historical seasonal 
pattern of a slower quarter 2 and quarter 
3 was repeated with a stronger quarter 4 
this continuous growth in ngr in 2007 is 
particularly impressive given that the 
additional revenue derived from poker 
customers playing casino games is 
included in casino ngr active 
customers increased during the year 
showing 15 increase between quarter 
4 2006 to quarter 4 2007 finally 
quarterly ngr per active customer 
remained relatively constant
in order to drive further growth in 2008 
888 is currently working to improve the 
conversion of its play for free “demo” 
customers to real money customers by 
including the demo mode play option 
within the real money environment the 
year has started with the keynote 
announcement of the “world poker 
crown” a sequence of branded events 
which will culminate with a us3 million 
guaranteed prize pool offline tournament 
to date this is the largest single event of 
its kind offered to the nonus market 
this us3 million event is the tournament 
final and daily and weekly satellite 
tournaments are run customised to 
match 888’s geographic customer base 
profiles in terms of game level risk profile 
and financial capability this activity  
will ultimately provide 10 qualifiers for  
the final
the group plans to introduce more 
features designed to maintain customers’ 
engagement and commitment 
throughout the year such features 
include the addition of advanced 
community and communication tools 
which 888 has already started to roll out 
in 2008 888 will also introduce the 
broadcasting of relevant global and 
localised tv content generated both by 
itself and by its users such content will 
be made available through 888’s various 
marketing channels and on its website 
through a planned advanced video 
portal these enhancements will further 
strengthen the performance and reach of 
888’s poker room
combined casino and poker kpis
with the gradual migration of the group’s 
customers onto the unified offering the 
distinction between casino and poker 
revenue becomes more and more 
difficult as a result the group reports its 
kpis for the combined casino and poker 
activity in the table below 
year 2006 2007
quarter 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
ngr us’000 39353 38853 38332 40463 46870 47790 47582 56695
active customers 188763 170512 179439 189112 205907 208876 209811 209918
ngr per active customer us 208 228 214 214 228 229 227 270
 	 n g r 	 fi g u r e s 	 r o u n d e d 
enhanced business review cont annual report  accounts 2007  as can be seen from the previous table 
the combined casino and poker kpis 
reveal strong ngr growth in 2007 
compared to 2006 growth which 
accelerated during the quarter 4 this  
in part can be attributed to increased 
active customer numbers that have 
grown in each quarter since the fifa 
world cup in the summer of 2006 as 
well as migration into higher edge 
games the growth in both factors has 
resulted in a stable ngr per active 
customer for the first three quarters 
followed by a significant increase to 
us270 per quarter 2006 us214 in 
quarter 4 2007 which benefited from the 
substantial ngr growth
bingo
2007 heralded 888’s entry into the online 
bingo market with in may 2007 the 
successful bingo acquisition the 
acquired bingo business constitutes the 
provision of software customer support 
and payment processing to some of  
the premium bingo partners in the uk 
such as
wwwfoxybingocom
wwwmirrorbingocom 
wwwthinkbingocom
wwwbingoscotlandcom
wwwthinkbingopluscom 
in addition to the bingo business 888 
now operates a white label bingo 
network which has some 50 white labels 
including bingoballroom and poshbingo 
2007 continued to see growth in online 
bingo with a number of new networks 
and white label sites entering the market 
in which 888 bingo has continued to be 
a dominant customer
in parallel to increasing the number of 
90ball and 75ball bingo rooms the 
group continued to strengthen the 
community feel of its offering and 
achieved significant customer 
satisfaction and retention levels the 
community feeling in 888’s bingo  
rooms is a combination of its friendly 
welcoming team of moderators who 
follow customers throughout their stay 
within 888’s bingo rooms and its 
rewarding website that includes a variety 
of interaction chat tools and venues an 
example of such features is the ladies 
l o u n g e where 888’s customers can find 
birthday bulletins the bingo glossary 
bingo calls and loyalty point offers 
loyalty to 888ladies and to the bingo 
venues powered by 888 whether one  
of 888’s premium partners or one of  
its white label partners is proof of  
the pervasiveness of community 
characteristics of an online bingo and 
further evidence of the appropriateness 
of 888’s stated strategy to continuously 
invest in expanding the scope of 
community services and tools in its 
bingo offering 
888’s bingo virtual venues are places 
that people feel excited to enter into its 
view on promotions to customers is 
simply to constantly give customers a 
reason to return the excitement in 888’s 
bingo rooms in 2007 took the forms of 
monthly guaranteed jackpots special 
event jackpots weekly and biweekly 
indulging events such as shopping 
sprees and giveaway of daily prizes that 
were part of the games themselves the 
other side of excitement is providing 
customers with welcome “surprises” for 
this purpose the group worked closely 
with its game and content providers and 
together tailored its gaming so that they 
do not only expand its offering but also 
excite and surprise this included a 
variety of scratch card games fixed odds 
games and branded games
2008 has seen the launch of the new 888 
bingo network www888ladiescom 
the site is positioned to appeal to a 
whole new market for the group and  
will provide women a place where  
they can enjoy bingo games with chat 
community features and indulgent prizes
in addition to 888ladies 888’s latest 
licensee has released their bingo 
network wwwwinkbingocom in quarter 
1 2008 which is further evidence of the 
group’s desire to grow its business by 
partnering with more licensees
currently with predominately english 
language customers the group plans to 
expand into the spanish market in 2008 
this market is increasingly a major 
market for online bingo and discussions 
are already underway with a number of 
potential licensees 888 plans to 
introduce its bingo offering in two 
additional localised versions of the game 
for identified high growth markets
in order to crystallise its position as a 
leading entertainment and content 
destination for women the group is 
planning to scale up its editorial 
capabilities this will turn 888’s gaming 
offering into a more contextual 
experience that links between what 
people read consume and win on 888 
website ranging from linking 
personalised online horoscope bonuses 
and invitations to play on birthdays and 
lucky days to games themed after the 
brands 888’s customers care the most 
about whether their favourite tv show  
or celebrity
communities are comprised of 
customers and the community operator 
in 2008 888 plans to strengthen the ties 
between the two by taking its community 
tools to the next level through 888’s own 
community platform this platform is the 
culmination of the vast experience 
obtained by 888’s customer retention 
teams through chat interaction with 
customers and observing their 
behaviour combined with the latest 
technology developments including rss 
feeds and web 20 widgets 888’s 
community platform will centralise 
contemporary content editing 
information distribution sharing spaces 
and personalisation tools the group  888 holdings public limited company  believes that this platform will have a 
positive effect on its business and ability 
to crosssell new offers to its customers
italian sportsbook 
in december 2006 the group was 
awarded one of the online sportsbetting 
licences issued by the italian 
government this licence grants the right 
to offer online betting facilities to the 
italian market in conjunction with a local 
partner this licence became operational 
and the business commenced trading 
with a soft launch in late 2007
sportsbetting
in early 2008 888 unveiled its new 
international sportsbetting service to 
complement its existing product suite 
“888sport” is a fully functioning portal 
allowing customers to place bets in 
various currencies via a number of 
language specific web sites
“888sport” offers a full range of 
sportsbetting services including uk 
european and international football horse 
and greyhound races from around the 
world and a whole host of other sporting 
events such as tennis rugby motor 
racing golf and other popular sports 
targeting both international and local 
markets “888sport” also features an “in 
play” betting service allowing customers 
to place bets on live events as they are 
taking place in some cases right up to 
the final whistle
the group’s route into this challenging 
marketplace has been to develop its 
product in conjunction with blue square 
one of the most popular and well 
established sportsbooks in the uk 
based in london blue square was 
launched in may 1999 and as well as 
providing internet based sportsbetting 
opportunities also offers its services 
through other channels including 
interactive tv wap and telephone 
betting in 2003 blue square was 
acquired by the rank group who are a 
major force in landbased gambling with 
casinos and bingo clubs across the uk 
and europe 
as a result of the partnership with blue 
square 888 benefits from blue square’s 
experience in trading and risk 
management to reduce the inherent risks 
associated with this business instead 
888 can concentrate on marketing to new 
customers using its sport related 
sponsorships such as sevilla football 
club and the 888 world snooker 
championship and crossselling its other 
products to these new customers 
the launch of 888’s sportsbook in march 
2008 was an important milestone for the 
group the uk version of the sportsbook 
immediately featured the popular 
cheltenham festival and champions 
league knockout stages whilst april 
sees the climax of the uk domestic 
football season the grand national the 
888 world snooker championships and 
the us masters golf from augusta in 
addition to the uk 888sport will be 
launching versions of the sportsbook 
simultaneously in spain germany 
austria sweden and denmark and will 
be featuring prime sporting events action 
from these countries additional territories 
will be added throughout the year in 
europe asia and south america each 
with its own local sporting events 
coverage the group sees significant 
opportunities with sportsbetting markets 
such as spain being largely untapped 
the complementary skills and work 
cultures of the 888 and blue square 
teams make 888 confident of completing 
a global rollout by the end of 2008 the 
international launch reinforces 888’s 
strategy of creating a large community  
of people consuming entertainment 
content online
new platforms
in 2007 888 has become an interactive 
entertainment destination with “real 
estate” expanding beyond the www888
com website spanning mobile phones 
through hotel room entertainment into  
inflight systems as part of its unified 
offering 888 allows interactive gaming  
on each of these new platforms with  
the same customer account password 
and where allowed wallet which its 
customers use online 
the rollout of 888’s gaming offerings 
onto these platforms has enabled its 
customers to play anytime anywhere  
on 888’s global network experiencing 
the same branded user experience 
historically enjoyed only online
the purpose of developing these new 
platforms is twofold firstly to improve 
retention of existing customers by giving 
them more ways to interact with 888 and 
secondly to acquire new customers by 
offering 888’s products to audiences that 
consume entertainment whilst travelling 
airplanes hotels or on their personal 
communication tool mobile phone 
for the platform developer and owner 
888’s wide game variety and strong 
brand enables them to broaden the 
content they offer to their users by 
incorporating 888’s offering to their 
customers thereby increasing their own 
revenues and share of customers’ time 
during the year 888 entered into a 
partnership agreement with one of the 
world’s leading inroom hospitality system 
providers this agreement allowed 888 to 
develop its first online casino product 
specially designed for internet enabled 
hotel room televisions with its own 
branded look and feel in addition as part 
of this partnership all wifi access in the 
hotels that install this system will feature 
free access to the www888com site for 
guests using laptops in the hotel’s 
network 888 plans to extend its first trial 
in the uk in 2008 with the plan to launch 
this service throughout europe during the 
remainder of the year
a further deal entered into by 888 in 2007 
was with dti an inflight entertainment 
enhanced business review cont annual report  accounts 2007  industry leader this agreement enables 
888 to offer its casino on inflight 
entertainment systems used by major 
international airlines 888 will be in a 
position to offer its gaming services on 
longhaul flights using dti’s inseat 
entertainment systems as soon as the 
technology is in place for inflight internet 
connectivity and the necessary regulatory 
approvals are obtained the product  
is currently in the final stages of 
development and the plan is to finalise 
installation on the first airplane in  
late 2008
888mobile plans to tap into the huge 
mobile phone market by using existing 
customer registration details on mobile 
phone casino which includes blackjack 
roulette and video slots the mobile 
potential is considerable given that in 
excess of one billion mobile phones will 
be sold worldwide in 2008 compared to 
200 million personal computers an 
increasing number of these mobile 
phones have bigger screens faster 
processors availability and portability 
which lend themselves to a great gaming 
experience this offering developed in 
cooperation with ukbased cellectivity 
and mfuse is available on over 250 
models sold in some 200 countries and 
will be distributed through 3 tmobile 
orange uk and other mobile portals
in 2008 888 intends to focus on cable 
tv and iptv this untapped platform is 
expected to become an acquisition 
channel as well as a platform to increase 
customer value 888 is currently in 
discussions with several partners and is 
evaluating the best route to penetrate this 
market
payments and risk management
epayments fraud and risk 
management department “epayments” 
had a significant role in supporting 
several strategic growth initiatives 
undertaken by 888 in 2007 
in 2007 customers were offered 23 
different deposit and 10 different 
withdrawal methods credit cards and 
debit cards were the most popular 
international payment method 
representing 865 of total deposits in 
2007 2006 867 with each region 
having its own distribution of preferred 
local methods
when customers enter www888com 
they are offered a range of payment 
options tailored to suit their local market 
based on their physical location from 
which they can choose their preferred 
payment method the availability of 
payment methods is a key element to a 
localised offering enabling customers  
to play their local entertaining game 
conveniently through their local preferred 
payment method by an analysis of 
geographical data and with the 
assistance of local knowledge new 
payment methods are identified  
carefully evaluated and assessed  
and where suitable implemented 
deposits and withdrawals are carefully 
monitored by 888’s inhouse fraud and 
payment risk management department 
this department has a wealth of 
experience in fraud prevention from years 
of operation and has integrated their 
internally developed prevention and 
verification procedures with commercially 
available third party measures to enable 
robust verification 
by constantly reviewing and analysing the 
performance of the payments process 
the system is optimised to maximise 
deposit levels approval rates control 
fraud activity and minimise payment 
processing costs
in quarter 3 2007 888 launched its state
oftheart payments processing system 
an inhouse developed new financial 
backbone system with both back office 
functionality and user side cashier 
interface the new system provides a 
major upgrade in processing capability 
and flexibility providing better customer 
service combined with an improved 
internal mechanism this system 
increases ease of use for customers 
significantly speeds up the integration of 
new payment methods and automates 
various back office procedures for greater 
efficiency and cost saving currently in 
trial the group intends to release the 
system to all its existing and new 
customers in 2008
expanding 888’s global business requires 
tailored treatment for payment and 
withdrawal methods the group’s e
payments business development and 
account management teams constantly 
analyse customer deposit and withdrawal 
habits in each country and ensure 
customers are presented with their 
preferred methods as the primary 
selections in the cashier and withdrawal 
module in 2007 888’s customers were 
offered the option to deposit in their  
local currency even when the games 
themselves were played in us dollars  
at the beginning of 2008 sports multi
currency was introduced in us dollars 
euros pound sterling danish krone  
and swedish krona to further align  
the group’s cashier and games  
with customer needs and payment 
preferences localisation and multi
currency support in asia europe and 
latin america will be the group’s focus 
in 2008 as well as the integration of new 
local payment and withdrawal options 
into the cashier
customer service 
the group remains committed to being 
market leader in the global online gaming 
industry as measured by customer 
satisfaction the group’s dedicated 
teams of trained inhouse customer 
support representatives provide the 
highest levels of service and support  
for each of the group’s brands and  
white labels  888 holdings public limited company  in 2007 the group continued to invest in 
the support infrastructure and expanded 
its language portfolio including 
expanding its existing english live chat 
service to cover three new languages 
the group offers first class customer 
support via email and telephone 24 
hours a day seven days a week to 
customers around the world in up to  
13 different languages 
the ongoing relationship and dialogue 
with customers is maintained by 
customer relationship management 
teams in two dedicated contact centres 
located in gibraltar and antigua the 
main gibraltar contact centre focuses on 
providing support to the group’s principal 
markets of europe asiapacific and latin 
america with the antiguan contact 
centre focused on supporting the 
group’s main english speaking markets 
in europe australia asiapacific and 
canada the contact centres in gibraltar 
and antigua played a vital role in the 
successful launch of the group’s first 
strategic partnerships with rileys in the 
uk and tower torneos in latin america
operating a dual contact centre system  
is a cost effective way of managing the 
overflow of phone calls chats and emails 
and allows efficient balancing of 
operational demands the group is 
therefore able to maintain the same high 
level of service throughout the day in 
addition the centres complement each 
other in a number of respects 
staff schedules are created jointly 
taking into consideration business 
trends from previous years andor 
anticipated promotional campaigns  
in a particular location
followup on customer issues can  
be completed from either location 
from a shared database in 888’s 
integrated back office system
•
•
representatives in each location are 
crosstrained to provide service for each 
of the group’s brands their aim is to 
resolve customers’ issues during the  
first contact 
the following performance levels were 
attained in 2007
casino in english 
94 of all phone calls are answered 
within 21 seconds
95 of all emails are replied to within 
12 hours
91 of all chat contacts are answered 
within 28 seconds
poker in english
96 of all calls are answered within 
21 seconds
97 of all emails are replied to within 
12 hours
91 of all chats are answered within 
32 seconds
in addition expert teams in both locations 
initiate outbound interaction with new and 
existing customers experiencing deposit 
issues selected customers are also 
contacted about special offers and new 
products and to reactivate those that 
have become inactive the launch and 
upgrade to the new 3d poker software 
and various new casino games launched 
in all 13 supported languages provided 
the group’s customer support 
representatives with further opportunities 
for crossselling
vip service
the service level provided to individual 
customers is differentiated with the 
group’s best customers receiving more 
personalised service this allows the 
group to offer its customers tailormade 
incentives to suit their profile and 
maximise their lifetime values a separate 
highly skilled team is dedicated to 
providing a high level of proactive 
customer service and hospitality to the 
group’s most valued casino customers 
•
•
•
•
•
•
the vip department adopts a thorough 
approach to following up on sensitive and 
complex cases every vip customer is 
provided with a personal account 
manager who strives to create a personal 
relationship with his customers in order to 
offer the ultimate in personal service 
determine customers’ interests and 
reward individual customers with gifts 
tailored to suit their personal tastes
the vip team organises targeted 
worldwide hospitality events to reward 
vips in a tangible manner events range 
from horse racing football and other 
sporting events to weekend breaks 
soldout concerts and social gatherings 
which also give customers the 
opportunity to meet their account 
managers facetoface 
the vip hospitality programme 
significantly enhances customer loyalty 
and individual lifetime value in 2008 the 
vip department is set to expand into 
providing their hospitality programme  
to each of the group’s brands and  
white labels
customer satisfaction
888 continuously monitors customer 
satisfaction by requesting and analysing 
realtime feedback and in 2007 
conducted a comprehensive survey to 
benchmark the group’s service level in its 
primary markets compared to previous 
studies the results show a significant 
overall increase in customer satisfaction 
respondents attributed the highest  
rating to the level of professionalism  
of customer support representatives 
achieving ratings of 427 and 415 out of  
a maximum of five for casino and poker 
respectively additional rating include 
enhanced business review cont annual report  accounts 2007  english casino customers rated their 
satisfaction with the quality of service 
at 411 
english poker customers rated their 
satisfaction with the quality of service 
at 401 
overall satisfaction of customers  
from various other countries and 
languages is similar
response time ratings were 429  
and 416 for casino and poker 
respectively 
a vital component in maintaining and 
exceeding customer expectations is the 
ability to access each customer’s full and 
complete history in real time optimising 
customer interactions at all levels the 
group’s advanced proprietary back office 
application functions as the backbone for 
the group’s entire business operation 
data from various divisions is integrated 
and streamlined into a single point of 
reference and provides representatives 
from every department – customer 
support vip risk management 
business production and finance – the 
tools to provide superior assistance to 
customers regardless of the department 
the query is directed to
customer contacts are strictly monitored 
to ensure quality and parity the group 
have retained leading contact centre 
experts to further enhance the quality of 
its customer support and representatives 
benefit from ongoing refresher training 
courses including responsible gaming 
training 
reporting and data mining 
the group has developed outstanding 
reporting and data mining tools that 
assist in identifying and predicting 
customer behaviour based on data 
collected since the group was founded in 
1997 
sophisticated customer tracking 
technology gives the group the ability to 
extract and analyse relevant information 
that enables it to better target its offering 
•
•
•
•
and marketing activities to customers 
around the world 
customers also benefit from the group’s 
ability to generate tailored statistical and 
contact category reports which identify 
trends habits and expectations of 
customers in real time highlighting 
bottlenecks and possible training needs 
at an early stage 
responsible gaming
“because we care responsible gaming 
means investing time energy and 
resources in the people we interact with 
daily – our employees our customers 
and our community”
the group’s aim is to raise awareness to 
responsible gaming through education 
and research programmes and to provide 
staff with the right tools to ensure a 
responsible gaming environment
the group is constantly implementing 
new ways to create a caring ethical 
gaming environment and to ensure 
customers are safe responsible gaming 
is a key feature in the group’s business 
strategy reflecting the importance it feels 
towards this issue in acknowledging  
the risks that the group’s games can 
pose for a small minority of people  
the group strives to achieve excellence  
in its responsible gaming policy and 
ethical conduct 
the group’s director of csr  
responsible gaming has wideranging 
responsibilities that include responsible 
gaming fair gaming outreach 
programmes with local charities  
and donations
training
888 believes that responsible gaming 
begins from within the group has 
therefore developed a crossgroup global 
training programme in which all group 
employees have participated throughout 
the past year
the group’s responsible training 
programme includes every department in 
the group the training has been tailor
made for each department so that 
responsible gaming awareness occurs 
from the first stage of each and every 
activity within the group including the 
game development 
protecting customers
gamcare one of the leading authorities 
on the provision of information advice 
and practical help in addressing the 
social impact of gambling has 
recognised www888com’s dedication  
to responsible gaming and customer 
protection and has awarded the group  
its certificate this year
after undergoing an audit covering staff 
training underage verification self 
deposit limits self exclusion referral 
processes to relevant agencies and 
related issues the group was 
commended for maintaining excellent 
standards of practice
as a responsible regulated gaming 
group 888 also complies with all 
guidelines published by ecogra a non
profit independent regulatory body 
based in the uk by examination of 
procedures and controls ecogra 
ensures that approved operators are 
properly and transparently monitored to 
provide customer protection
www888com also adheres to the 
stringent rules concerning underage 
gambling established by the interactive 
gaming council of which it is a member  888 holdings public limited company  preventative measures
keeping in mind its motto “responsible 
gaming means investing in the people  
we care about” group staff are trained 
to respect customer privacy should a 
problem arise 888 aims to work together 
with customers towards the best and 
most comfortable solution for them
the group has established several 
measures designed to help prevent 
gambling from becoming a problem
personal limits are in place across all 
group brands and are voluntarily 
available to all members using the new 
payment system planned to be fully 
integrated this year if at any stage a 
customer becomes concerned about 
their play behaviour they can request to 
be selfexcluded for a chosen period 
during this period 888 will block the 
account any new accounts the 
customer might attempt to open during 
the exclusion period will also be blocked 
as soon as detected in addition the 
group will take all reasonable measures 
to make sure the customer will not 
receive any promotional material during 
the designated time all customers who 
reactivate their account following a self
exclusion period are given the 
opportunity to set their own limits
the group has also added the 
“gambling therapy” button on its 
website to provide its customers with 
information and support for those who 
feel their gambling is a matter of concern 
gambling therapy provides online 
support to anyone affected by  
problem gambling
protecting minors
in accordance with its responsible 
gambling policy the group does not 
knowingly allow anyone under the age  
of 18 to play its games and none of its 
promotions are targeted at minors
together with gamcare the group trains 
call centre staff to identify and deal with 
anyone who might be underage the 
group has trained staff to be most 
sensitive to the possibility of underage 
gambling whenever an account is 
suspected of belonging to an underage 
customer it is suspended until a full 
investigation has been carried out in 
order to protect minors verification 
systems are used where applicable to 
verify and identify the age and identity of 
the customer
raising awareness
during 2007 the group launched  
a new website dedicated exclusively  
to responsible gaming called 
888responsiblecom http
www888responsiblecom 
888responsiblecom offers 
comprehensive and easily accessible 
information about responsible gaming 
practices dealing with problem 
gambling preventing underage 
gambling charity activities and more
the new website provides tools with 
which to address online gaming parents 
can learn how to identify the signs 
indicating that their children might have  
a problem related to gambling while 
customers can take the selfassessment 
test to determine their gambling habits 
learn how to keep out of debt and even 
how to exclude themselves from playing 
at online casinos
education
during 2007 888 joined the rigt 
responsibility in gambling trust and 
donated to their new educational 
programme the aim of the programme 
is to help young people understand  
the risk of problem gambling and to 
show them how they can reduce  
harm to themselves and their  
friends by developing skills attitudes  
and knowledge 
corporate social  
responsibility policy 
working with the community
as a global group 888 aims to reach  
out to its communities worldwide and  
to work with them for a better future 
on 10 october 2007 in celebration of  
its tenth birthday the group held its  
first charity day in collaboration  
with two global charities the charity  
day focused on fundraising campaigns 
to support humanitarian and 
environmental projects worldwide
the day involved all aspects of the 
group from group employees who 
volunteered their time at local charities 
to customers whose losses during the 
day playing casino poker and bingo 
were earmarked for donation at the  
end of the day a total of us100000  
was raised and donated to two  
global charities earthaction and  
world for world
during the day the group’s employees 
also volunteered their time to their local 
regional charity – macmillan cancer 
support in the uk st martin’s school in 
gibraltar the adele school in antigua 
and “up for the challenge” in israel
this day was only the start of what is 
expected to be a long lasting relationship 
between the group its employees and 
the various charities 
as part of its ongoing csr initiatives in 
spain through our gibraltar site the 
group will sponsor a pair of lynxes 
which are new additions to the castellar 
zoo in spain for the next five years 
in march 2008 888 received formal 
confirmation from ftse4good that all 
requirements had been met and that the 
group is now part of the index 
enhanced business review cont annual report  accounts 2007  environment
as an online company the group has a 
low environmental impact nevertheless 
the group acknowledges that everyday 
actions may affect the environment with 
potentially adverse consequences the 
group’s offline operations are primarily 
office based and its main environmental 
impact stems from transportation and 
the use of paper lighting heating air 
conditioning and it 888 has established 
a committee to deal with office paper 
use waste recycling and other relevant 
environmental issues the committee 
led by the group’s director of global 
purchasing and operations is 
responsible for overseeing new 
procedures their practical 
implementation within the group and  
the exploration of new ways to minimise 
environmental footprint
this year a pilot project designed to use 
energy and resources as efficiently as 
possible was launched at the group’s 
offices in israel as the pilot was 
successful both these actions will be 
implemented at all group offices during 
the coming year 
as a global business extensive 
employee travel is another environmental 
challenge with which the group is faced 
in order to minimise travel the group has 
invested in the latest multimedia 
technology and encourages employees 
to use teleconferencing facilities for 
daily commuting 888 provides its 
employees with bus transportation to 
minimise the use of private vehicles the 
group has also provided bicycle locking 
stations in the parking lots and other 
bicycle facilities in order to encourage 
employees to cycle to work during 
2008 the group intends to finalise its 
carbon footprint and process an action 
plan that will reduce its carbon release
life888com
888 invests a great deal of time and 
resources ensuring that customers have 
access to a friendly and caring gaming 
environment employees and suppliers 
enjoy an ethical and rewarding 
workplace and the greater community 
as well as shareholders benefit from the 
group’s success we follow a creed 
which serves as a guideline for global 
work life
entertainment888 – we believe that 
entertainment is what completes our 
lives after the challenges and routine 
that occupy most of our time everyone is 
entitled to some fun and excitement 
customers888 – we believe that  
our first responsibility is to provide  
the best gaming experience to our 
customers this means offering the  
most entertaining innovative exciting 
and rewarding opportunities to win 
combined with unparalleled customer 
service that is available from any  
location at any given time 888 is proud 
to develop and acquire new products to 
maintain its edge we are always mindful 
of the complex regulatory environment  
in which it operates and the social 
responsibility that comes with the 
gaming industry 888 understand that  
it must invest time and resources in 
caring for customers and protecting  
the vulnerable 
employees888 – we are responsible 
for our employees who work with us 
worldwide we must provide an 
enjoyable work environment where 
people are challenged and motivated  
to excel where flair is rewarded 
compensation is fair and the balance 
between work and family is respected 
individual development is encouraged 
and advancement is based solely on 
merit we must always invest in 
developing our employees so that they 
can achieve their personal aspirations  
all employees should expect their 
managers to be capable knowledgeable 
and motivating we must always treat  
our suppliers and other partners with 
respect enabling them to make a  
fair profit we will never expose our 
employees to risks and all employees 
should be comfortable that their actions 
are just and ethical 
responsibility888 – we must use our 
financial success for the greater good 
we are in a wonderful position to invest 
in the charities and organisations that  
are important to our employees and  
our customers we must especially 
encourage and support the social 
responsibility that accompanies our 
work we are committed to providing a 
fair and responsible gaming environment 
and to guiding our customers to  
play responsibly 
investors888 – our final responsibility 
is to our shareholders we must strive  
to operate as efficiently as possible 
achieving profitable excellence ensuring 
that we treat their capital as if it were our 
own we must take risks that allow step
changes in performance while always 
calculating the risk and measuring  
our results retaining knowledge and 
learning from our experiences by  
doing all of the above we will increase 
shareholder value
implementing our values
we set high standards for ourselves  
and we take pride in our ability to 
consistently maintain them following  
the belief that “it’s in our nature” and after 
extensive internal workshops involving 
employees across the organisation we 
have outlined and implemented a set  
of comprehensive values that represent 
the way we operate  888 holdings public limited company  excellence we consistently challenge 
ourselves to reach the highest 
performance level in everything we do
innovation we dare to question  
our own “way of doing things” keeping 
an open mind experimenting and 
constantly creating new and  
surprising solutions
caring at 888com we value every 
employee colleague and customer  
we show it by creating a nurturing 
environment of respect and sensitivity to 
the needs of others we do not forget our 
commitment to provide a responsible 
gaming environment to all 
customer centricity keeping our 
customers both internal and external  
at the centre of all decisionmaking 
processes we strive to exceed customer 
expectations and provide the best 
customer experience
leading we strive to remain one step 
ahead of the competition this means  
we are constantly on our toes thinking 
ahead and keeping a close eye on 
industry developments 
collaboration our success depends on 
our ability to work as a single unit while 
sharing our knowledge capabilities and 
opinions in an open respectful and 
trusting environment
these values underpin the group’s 
strategic goals giving all employees  
a sense of identification and a defined 
way of behaving as well as ensuring 
alignment between the organisation’s 
business objectives and those of 
individual employees these values serve 
us as our guidelines and we strive to 
obtain a high level of integrity in the way 
we work communicate and act 
professional development
the group recognises that investment  
in the professional development of its 
employees is a key factor in its ongoing 
success this year the group developed 
a leadership programme which focused 
on providing managers with leading 
global managerial tools and solutions  
eg ken blanchard and myers briggs 
for leading and managing their 
employees successfully
the leadership programme focused on 
coaching managers to adopt appropriate 
leadership styles to suit individuals in 
their team and to develop the behaviour 
required by managers to achieve 
excellent performance and teamwork 
building on effective communications 
motivation skills and concentrating on 
the relationship between manager and 
employee the programme succeeded  
in enabling managers to analyse and 
resolve a variety of possible situations 
that they may experience and apply 
themselves in the most appropriate way 
this embedded the group’s value of 
leadership in its daily operations
training
ensuring that staff have all the skills and 
knowledge required to perform their job 
well and assisting them to develop the 
next generation of products and services 
is crucial to a growing business the 
group is dedicated to the professional 
development of its employees so  
that they can achieve their personal 
aspirations training is therefore part  
of life888com 
training initiatives are offered both 
internally and externally and include 
technical skills as well as soft skills 
training in 2007 80 of all group 
employees participated in internal andor 
external professional training seminars
the training sections were divided  
into three levels soft skill training 
technological training and industry 
training in each training section the 
group used professional trainers 
together with well designed materials 
this year 888 has also initiated a “train 
the trainer” internal programme which 
focused on assisting expert employees 
to improve their presentational skills and 
their professionalism 
equal opportunity
the group believes in promoting equal 
opportunities through every aspect of  
the employment relationship and by 
providing a workplace that welcomes 
difference and enables employees to  
feel comfortable
as 888 enjoys a cosmopolitan workforce 
from a large variety of nationalities all 
working side by side the group’s 
diversity policy is explicit the group 
does not tolerate any form of 
harassment including any uninvited 
unwelcome behaviour which offends 
humiliates or intimidates 35 of the 
group’s worldwide management team  
is female 
at year end the group had 805 
employees 2006 736 at the following 
locations gibraltar 270 israel 451 
antigua 68 london 16
enhanced business review cont
excellence innovation caring annual report  accounts 2007  regulation and general  
regulatory developments
the regulatory framework of online 
gaming in different countries around the 
world remains as dynamic and rapidly 
evolving as ever while some jurisdictions 
have moved to curtail the activities of 
online gaming sites many others are 
currently contemplating liberalisation and 
regulation of the industry and some have 
already taken this route the board notes 
that there are significant risks unique to 
the online gaming industry including 
from activity with customers in the usa 
prior to the group’s withdrawal from  
the market in october 2006 where 
customers of 888 generated 55 of  
its net gaming revenue the board 
remains committed to monitoring closely 
and addressing regulatory changes as 
they occur and to fostering so far as 
possible the trend towards liberalisation 
and regulation of online gaming 
throughout the world
gibraltar
888 is licensed and regulated in gibraltar 
italy
in italy 888 received a sportsbetting 
licence which allows it to offer 
sportsbetting services supervised by 
the  
state monopoly authority following 
regulations issued by the italian 
authorities in 2007 the licence will allow 
888 to offer skill games including poker 
tournaments subject to receiving  
the proper authorisations from the  
italian authorities 
eu
the european commission is challenging 
the online gambling and betting 
regulatory regimes of various european 
states as the commission holds that as 
regards eu licensed companies these 
regimes might infringe the enshrined 
freedom to provide services the freedom 
of establishment and the concept of 
mutual recognition this effort is  
reflected in inter alia the infringement 
proceedings initiated against several  
eu states – italy denmark finland 
germany hungary the netherlands 
sweden france austria and greece 
should these member states fail to 
supply adequate reasoning of their 
gambling legislation the commission 
may refer the issue with each member 
state to the european court of justice 
while these proceedings may in the end 
cause the european states to liberalise 
their gambling markets it should be 
noted that it could be a very long time 
before resolutions or judgments are 
reached if at all in this light in france 
during march 2007 888’s nonexecutive 
director and former chief executive 
officer john anderson attended an 
interview with the french authorities  
888 is in consultation with its legal 
advisers with regard to this matter and 
closely monitors the situation for any 
developments specifically as to france 
the french supreme court annulled a 
french court of appeals judgment 
issued against zeturf an online gambling 
operator licensed in malta due to the 
fact that the court of appeals failed to 
examine whether the french gambling 
legislation is compatible with eu law  
the supreme court ordered the court  
of appeals to reexamine the issue 
according to eu law and also to 
consider whether the social goals which 
justify the gambling monopoly are not 
fulfilled by the maltese gambling 
legislation 
in addition to these infringement 
proceedings the eu commission is 
involved in other instances in which the 
online gambling and betting regulatory 
regimes appear to contravene rights and 
freedoms of online gambling and betting 
operators eg issuing detailed opinions 
against the enactment of prohibitive 
legislation and intervening in the wto 
process described above 
on 6 march 2007 the european court  
of justice issued its judgment in the 
placanica case which focuses on the 
compatibility of the italian gambling 
legislation with eu law the court ruled 
inter alia that insofar as the prohibition  
to offer gambling services which is set 
within a member state’s legislation is 
found to be incompatible with eu law 
such member state may not apply 
criminal sanctions to an activity which 
contravenes this prohibition the court 
found this to be the case there as a 
specific prohibition contained in the 
italian gambling legislation which was 
reviewed by the court was found to 
contravene eu law therefore the court 
ruled that italy cannot apply criminal 
sanctions for breaching this prohibition 
customer centricity leading collaboration 888 holdings public limited company  0
usawto
in the usa uigea added a new section 
to the united states code making it 
illegal for anyone engaging in the 
business of betting or wagering to 
knowingly accept any credit electronic 
funds transfer check draft etc in 
connection with the participation of 
another person in unlawful internet 
gaming in essence the uigea act 
prohibits online gambling operators  
from receiving the proceeds of financial 
transactions in connection with internet 
gaming if the gaming is illegal in the state 
where the bettor is located in addition 
the united states secretary of treasury 
and federal reserve are directed under 
uigea to promulgate regulations which 
will require financial institutions to block 
transactions in connection with internet 
gaming draft regulations were issued  
in october 2007 in october 2006  
the group stopped taking bets from  
us customers 
on 5 june 2007 the group announced 
that it had initiated preliminary 
discussions with the united states 
attorney’s office for the southern district 
of new york regarding activity prior to 
enactment of the legislation it is too early 
to assess any particular outcome of 
these discussions
it was recently found by the world trade 
organization that the us legislative 
position with respect to internet 
gambling violates us trade 
commitments following this decision 
the us withdrew its trade commitment in 
the sphere of gambling while several 
trade partners required compensation 
from the us following this withdrawal 
none of the agreements reached so far 
between the us and some of these trade 
partners have had an impact within the 
online gambling market antigua and 
costa rica did not reach agreement with 
the us and applied to the wto to 
arbitrate a settlement between them and 
the us in connection with the withdrawal 
of the us commitment 
in december 2007 the remote gaming 
association a trade body representing 
several online gaming operators of 
which the group is a member filed a 
complaint with the european union 
against the us in connection with the 
breach of its trade commitments 
following this complaint the european 
commission decided to open an 
investigation into whether the united 
states is in breach of its wto obligations 
in the sphere of gambling in relation to 
the period prior to the withdrawal of its 
commitment the investigation is 
expected to take five to seven months  
at the end of which the commission will 
present its findings which could lead to 
the initiation of wto proceedings 
the board continues to monitor these 
developments closely and is alert to 
changes as they may occur in areas 
where the group operates
enhanced business review cont annual report  accounts 2007  r i sk r e p or t
2 0 07
these measures include traffic filtering 
antiddos distributed denial of service 
devices antivirus protection from leading 
vendors and other such means physical 
and logical network segmentation is  
used to isolate and protect the group’s 
networks and restrict malicious activities 
in order to ensure systems are protected 
properly and effectively external security 
scan and assessments are carried out in 
a timely manner in addition the group 
has recently implemented a new highend 
storage solution enhancing storage 
availability and performance all critical 
data is replicated to another storage 
device for disaster recovery purposes 
and all data is stored offsite on a  
daily basis
in order to minimise dependencies on 
telecommunication service providers the 
group invests in network infrastructure 
redundancies whilst regularly reviewing its 
service providers 
as a part of its monitoring system the 
group deploys set user experience  
tests which measure performance from 
different locations around the world 
networkrelated performance issues are 
addressed by rerouting traffic using 
different routes or providers 
888 operate a 24x7 network  
operations centre noc the noc’s  
role is to conduct real time monitoring  
of production activities using stateof 
theart systems these systems are 
designed to identify and provide  
alerts regarding problems related  
to systems key business indicators  
and issues surrounding customer 
usability experience 
taxation risk
the group aims to ensure that each legal 
entity within the group is a tax resident of 
the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated 
and has no taxable presence in any other 
jurisdiction while the group’s customers 
are located worldwide certain 
jurisdictions may seek to tax such activity 
the group operates in a new and 
dynamic business environment in 
addition to the day to day commercial 
risks faced by most enterprises the online 
gaming industry presents the group with 
particular challenges in respect of 
regulatory risk reputational risk 
information technology risk and taxation 
risk each of which is detailed below 
regulatory risk
the regulatory framework of online 
gaming is dynamic and complex change 
in the regulatory regime in a specific 
jurisdiction could have a material adverse 
effect on business volume and financial 
performance in that jurisdiction  
a detailed regulatory review is set  
out below
reputational risk 
the group is exposed to the risk of 
underage and problem gamblers 
accessing its online real money gaming 
sites the group devotes considerable 
resources in putting into place prevention 
measures coupled with strict internal 
procedures designed not to allow 
underaged players from accessing its real 
money sites in addition the group 
promotes a safe and responsible  
gaming environment to its customers 
supplemented by its corporate culture 
the group appointed a dedicated 
director of csr and responsible  
gaming tasked with the responsibility  
of implementing such policies further 
details about the group’s responsible 
gaming initiatives are set out above
information technology risks 
as a leading online business the group’s 
it systems are critical to its operation 
the group is reliant on the performance 
of these systems whilst ensuring 
exposure to external risks is minimal 
cuttingedge technologies and 
procedures are implemented throughout 
the group’s technology operations 
designed to protect its networks from 
malicious attacks and other such risks 
which could have a material adverse 
effect on the amount of tax payable by 
the group or on customers’ behaviour 
the group benefit from favourable fiscal 
arrangements in some of the jurisdictions 
in which it has taxable presence without 
which its results would be adversely 
affected all gaming activities are based  
in gibraltar where the group currently 
benefits from a tax exempt status  
a change of control or activity of a tax 
exempt subsidiary would result in the  
loss of its tax status however this is not 
expected to have a material adverse 
effect on the overall tax rate of the group 
the tax exempt status is due to expire by 
the end of 2010 when the government  
of gibraltar intends to introduce a new 
fiscal regime that complies with eu 
requirements the replacement regime is 
still to be unveiled although the gibraltar 
government has pledged its commitment 
to maintain fiscal competitiveness and a 
low effective tax rate the group is 
required to pay a gaming tax currently 
set at 1 of gaming yield with an annual 
maximum cap of £425000 in aggregate 
in respect of its casino poker bingo and 
backgammon activities from 2008 
additional gaming tax at the same rate  
is due in respect of the group’s new 
sports offering
the group’s subsidiary in israel random 
logic limited and the israeli branch of 
intersafe global limited have each 
entered into separate transfer pricing 
agreements on an arm’slength basis with 
the israeli income tax commissioner  
the arrangements for random logic 
limited are effective until 2010 while  
the arrangement for the intersafe global 
limited branch has terminated on 
31 december 2007 accordingly the 
group is in the process of discontinuing 
the use of this branch and so does not 
intend to enter into a new agreement 
the operation in antigua also benefits 
from a low tax regime further mitigated by 
the current small scale of the operation 888 holdings public limited company  richard kilsby 
n o n e x e c u t i v e 	 c h a i r m a n
richard kilsby has been chairman since 
march 2006 having previously been 
deputy chairman of the group from 
august 2005 he is currently a director  
of collins stewart plc and tullett prebon 
plc since 2001 he has held several 
board and management positions in 
various private and venture capital 
funded companies in 2004 he acted as 
independent monitor for the sec and 
usa department of justice from 1999 
to 2002 he was chief executive of 
tradepoint and subsequently executive 
vice chairman of virtx plc from 1995 to 
1998 he was an executive director of 
the london stock exchange prior to 
which he was a managing director for 
bankers trust from 1992 to 1995 he 
was also vice chairman of charterhouse 
bank from 1988 to 1992 and spent the 
early part of his career with price 
waterhouse now pwc where he was  
a partner from 1984 to 1988 age 56
gigi levy
c h i e f 	 e x e c u t i v e 	 o f fi c e r
gigi levy has been chief executive 
officer of the group since january 2007 
following six months as chief operating 
officer prior to his appointment gigi 
worked for amdocs one of the world’s 
largest software providers and systems 
integrators in the telecoms market 
nyse dox most recently as division 
president managing amdocs’ activity in 
europe except eastern europe central 
and latin america before joining 
amdocs gigi held several interim 
management and consulting roles  
with various companies in israel and  
the uk gigi also headed giltek a 
telecommunication systems integrator 
and girit telecommunications an israeli 
information and communications 
technology systems integrator he holds 
an mba from the kellogg school of 
management at northwestern university 
age 37 
board of directors
aviad kobrine
c h i e f 	 f i n a n c i a l 	 o f fi c e r
aviad kobrine has been chief financial 
officer of the group since june 2005 
and was appointed to the board in 
august 2005 from october 2004 he 
was a consultant to 888 previously he 
was a banker with the media telecoms 
investment banking group of lehman 
brothers and prior to that he was a 
senior associate with slaughter and may 
he holds a masters in finance from the 
london business school distinction a 
ba in economics and an llb from tel 
aviv university age 44 
brian mattingley 
d e p u t y 	 c h a i r m a n 	 a n d 	 s e n i o r	
i n d e p e n d e n t 	 n o n e x e c u t i v e 	 d i r e c t o r
brian mattingley has been deputy 
chairman since march 2006 and was 
appointed to the board in august 2005 
he was previously chief executive of 
gala regional developments limited 
until 2005 from 1997 to 2003 he was 
group finance and strategy director of 
gala group plc prior to which he was 
chief executive of ritz bingo limited he 
has held senior executive positions within 
kingfisher plc and dee corporation plc 
age 56
john anderson
n o n e x e c u t i v e 	 d i r e c t o r
john anderson was the chief executive 
officer of the group from september 
2000 to december 2006 he is currently 
nonexecutive chairman of burford 
holdings plc and was chief executive 
officer of burford holdings plc from 1996 
to 2000 he is chairman of the interactive 
gaming council a board member of 
ecogra and chairman of 10 tech 
holdings limited previously he was a 
board member of ladbrokes plc from 
1990 to 1996 age 59 
shay benyitzhak
n o n e x e c u t i v e 	 d i r e c t o r
shay benyitzhak is one of 888’s 
founders and has been the chief 
technical officer of the group and 
responsible for research and 
development from the establishment of 
its research and development centre in 
tel aviv until june 2006 previously he 
was a software engineer for tower 
semiconductor limited and cibam 
technologies limited he holds a bsc in 
computer science from technion — the 
israel institute of technology age 39
michael constantine 
i n d e p e n d e n t 	 n o n e x e c u t i v e 	 d i r e c t o r
michael constantine was appointed in 
august 2005 from 1996 to 1998 he 
was deputy superintendent of the turks 
and caicos islands financial services 
commission and in 1995 was head of 
the financial supervision unit of the 
mauritius offshore business activities 
authority from 1991 to 1995 he was 
inspector of licensees at the gibraltar 
financial services commission latterly 
acting commissioner he is a chartered 
accountant and for many years a partner 
in the firm of spain brothers  company 
he served in the royal naval reserve 
reaching the rank of commander  
age 69
amos pickel 
i n d e p e n d e n t 	 n o n e x e c u t i v e 	 d i r e c t o r
amos pickel was appointed in march 
2006 he is the chief executive officer of 
atlas management company limited 
and was formerly chief executive officer 
and member of the board of directors of 
red sea hotels ltd previously a non
executive director of gresham hotel 
group plc he is a solicitor holding a 
masters in law from new york university 
and a ba in law from tel aviv university 
age 41 annual report  accounts 2007 33
888 is listed on the london stock 
exchange but it is not subject to the  
uk combined code on corporate 
governance issued in june 2006  
the code because it is a gibraltar 
incorporated company the directors 
support high standards of corporate 
governance and will comply with the 
code as far as it is appropriate for a 
company incorporated in gibraltar
the board
the directors consider it essential that 
the company should be both led and 
controlled by an effective board
composition
the board consists of eight directors as 
follows three independent non
set out below are details of the directors’ attendance record at board and committee meetings in 2007
 total number of meetings held during the year ended 
 december 2007 and the number of meetings 
 attended by each director
   audit  remuneration nominations  
  board committee committee  committee
total held in year  6 3 3 0
richard kilsby  6 na na –
gigi levy  6 na na na
aviad kobrine  6 na na na
john anderson  5 na na na
shay benyitzhak  4 na na na
michael constantine  6 3 3 –
brian mattingley  5 3 3 –
amos pickel  5 2 2 na
corporate governance
executive directors two non
independent nonexecutive directors  
a nonexecutive chairman and two 
executive directors comprising the chief 
executive officer and chief financial 
officer the biographical details of all of 
the directors are given on page 32
strategic approach
the board focuses upon the group’s 
longterm objectives strategic and policy 
issues and considers management of 
key risks facing the group the board  
is responsible for acquisitions and 
divestments major capital expenditure 
projects and considering group budgets 
and dividend policy the board also 
determines key appointments the  
board receives regular updates on 
shareholders’ views 
the board has established a calendar of 
business this provides for the financial 
calendar strategic planning annual 
budgets and performance self
assessments as well as the conduct of 
standing business the calendar forms 
the basis for effective integration of 
business activities as between the board 
and its principal committees see pages 
34 and 35 which individually consider 
their own operating frameworks against 
the board’s business programme
the board plans to meet six times a year 
during 2007 the board met six times 888 holdings public limited company 34
the chairman has responsibility for 
ensuring that agendas for board 
meetings are set in advance board 
papers are where practicable issued  
to directors sufficiently in advance of 
meetings to facilitate both informed 
debate and timely decisions given the 
importance of regulatory and compliance 
issues to the company the board 
assumed direct responsibility for matters 
falling within the remit of the former 
regulatory and compliance committee 
and accordingly this committee  
was disbanded
nonexecutive review and 
performance appraisal
the chairman holds meetings at least 
once per year with the nonexecutive 
directors without the executive directors 
being present led by the senior 
independent director the nonexecutive 
directors meet once per year without the 
chairman present in order to appraise 
the performance of the chairman the 
directors have wide ranging business 
experience and no individual or group 
of individuals dominates the board’s 
decision making
the board considers that brian 
mattingley michael constantine and 
amos pickel satisfy the criteria of the 
code to act as independent non
executive directors the board is 
satisfied that upon his appointment  
as chairman richard kilsby met the 
independence criteria of the code the 
other significant commitments of the 
chairman during 2007 are detailed  
in his biography on page 32 the  
board considers that mr kilsby’s other 
commitments do not interfere with the 
discharge of his responsibilities to the 
group and is satisfied that he makes 
sufficient time available to serve the 
company effectively
reserved powers and delegation
a schedule of matters reserved to the 
board has been adopted and its content 
is reviewed to align it with operational 
needs and the board’s preference to 
monitor and where appropriate approve 
matters of substance to the group as  
a whole senior executives have given 
written undertakings to ensure 
compliance within their business 
operations with the board’s formal 
schedule of matters reserved for itself  
for decision or approval 
division of responsibilities
the responsibilities of the chairman  
are clearly and formally defined with  
the chairman being responsible  
for the effective operation of the  
board as a whole and supporting  
key external relationships 
other issues
all directors have access to the advice 
and services of the company secretary 
and the company’s nominated advisers 
who are responsible for ensuring  
that board procedures are followed 
directors are able to seek independent 
professional advice if required at the 
company’s expense provided that they 
have first notified their intention to do  
so the appointment or removal of the 
company secretary is a matter for the 
board as a whole
the board accepts that there should  
be a formal rigorous and transparent 
procedure for the induction of new 
directors which has been formulated 
with the guidance of the nominations 
committee
the opportunity to hold office as non
executive directors of other companies 
enables directors of 888 to broaden their 
experience and knowledge which will 
benefit the company executive directors 
may be allowed to accept nonexecutive 
appointments with the board’s prior 
permission so long as these are not 
likely to lead to conflicts of interest 
executive directors may be required to 
account for fees received from such 
other companies
the company has arranged insurance 
cover in respect of legal actions against 
its directors to the extent permitted by 
gibraltar law the company also 
indemnifies the directors neither the 
insurance nor the indemnity provides 
cover where a director has acted 
fraudulently or dishonestly
reelection of directors
all directors are subject to re
appointment by shareholders at the  
first annual general meeting after  
their appointment and thereafter  
in accordance with the articles of 
association of the company at intervals 
of no more than three years gigi levy 
and john anderson were appointed as 
directors mr anderson for an initial 
period of three years at the 2007 annual 
general meeting brian mattingley 
michael constantine and amos pickel 
the independent nonexecutive 
directors were appointed for a period of 
three years following their reappointment 
by the shareholders at the 2007 annual 
general meeting 
audit committee
the audit committee comprises three 
independent nonexecutive directors 
brian mattingley chair michael 
constantine and amos pickel the board 
is satisfied that brian mattingley has 
sufficient recent and relevant financial 
experience to chair the audit committee 
normally by invitation the chairman 
chief executive officer and chief 
financial officer and internal auditor 
attend committee meetings as may 
representatives of the company’s 
external auditors 
the audit committee’s terms of 
reference are available on request  
to the company secretary and are 
included on the company’s website 
www888holdingsplccom
corporate governance 
conti nu ed annual report  accounts 2007 35
in summary the audit committee  
assists the board in discharging its 
responsibilities with regard to financial 
reporting external and internal audits 
and controls including reviewing 888’s 
annual financial statements considering 
the scope of annual audit and the extent 
of nonaudit work undertaken by external 
auditors approving 888’s internal audit 
programme advising on the appointment 
of external auditors and reviewing the 
effectiveness of internal control systems
nominations committee 
the nominations committee comprises 
three independent nonexecutive 
directors michael constantine chair 
brian mattingley and amos pickel as  
well as richard kilsby chairman the 
nominations committee did not meet 
during 2007 
the nominations committee assists the 
board in discharging its responsibilities 
relating to the composition of the board 
the nominations committee is 
responsible for reviewing from time  
to time the structure of the board 
determining succession plans for the 
chairman and chief executive officer 
and identifying and recommending 
suitable candidates for appointment as 
directors the nominations committee’s 
terms of reference are available on 
request to the company secretary and 
are included on the company’s website 
www888holdingsplccom
remuneration committee
the company’s remuneration 
committee comprises solely 
independent nonexecutive directors 
brian mattingley chairs the remuneration 
committee and its other members are 
michael constantine and amos pickel 
the remuneration committee  
assists the board in determining  
its responsibilities in relation to 
remuneration including making 
recommendations to the board on 888’s 
policy on executive remuneration 
determining the individual remuneration 
and benefits of each of the executive 
directors and recommending and 
monitoring the remuneration of senior 
management below board level 
the remuneration report which 
outlines the remuneration committee’s 
work and details of directors’ 
remuneration is on pages 37 to 44  
the remuneration committee’s terms  
of reference are available on request  
to the company secretary and are 
included on the company’s website 
www888holdingsplccom
risk management and  
internal control
the directors acknowledge that they are 
responsible for the company’s system of 
internal control for setting policy on 
internal control and for reviewing the 
effectiveness of internal control it is 
management’s role to implement board 
policies on risk and control including 
reporting the system of internal control 
is designed to manage rather than 
eliminate the risk of failure to achieve 
business objectives and can only provide 
reasonable and not absolute assurance 
against material misstatement or loss
the board has delegated responsibility 
to the audit committee to review the 
appropriateness and adequacy of 
systems of internal control on an ongoing 
basis and to make recommendations to 
the board the company has an internal 
auditor who reports to the audit 
committee whose audit programme for 
2008 was reviewed and approved by the 
audit committee early in 2008 
888’s payment risk management team 
based in gibraltar has developed 
stringent payment risk management and 
fraud control procedures the team 
makes use of external and internal 
systems to manage the payment risks 
faced by 888’s operational systems 
detailed procedures exist throughout the 
company’s operations and compliance 
is monitored by operational management 
and the internal auditor
the directors periodically review the 
effectiveness of the group’s systems of 
internal control the review considers 
individual risk control responsibilities 
reporting lines and qualitative 
assessments of residual risks 
relations with shareholders and key 
financial audiences
the company maintains an active and 
regular dialogue with principal and 
institutional shareholders and sellside 
analysts through a planned programme 
of investor relations and financial pr 
activity the outcome of these meetings 
is reported to the board the programme 
includes formal presentations of full  
year and interim results quarterly  
release of key performance  
indicators analysts’ conference  
calls and periodic road shows
brian mattingley the senior independent 
director is available to shareholders to 
address any issues that normal contact 
with the chairman chief executive 
officer and chief financial officer is 
inappropriate or has failed to resolve  
the issue
all shareholders are welcome to attend 
the 2008 annual general meeting and 
private investors are encouraged to  
take advantage of the opportunity given 
to ask questions the chairmen or 
nominated members of the audit 
remuneration and nominations 
committees will attend the meeting  
and be available to answer questions 888 holdings public limited company 36
compliance with the  
code provisions
as 888 holdings public limited 
company is registered in gibraltar it is 
subject to compliance with gibraltar 
statutory requirements and is not bound 
by the uk combined code the main 
legislation relevant to companies in 
gibraltar is the gibraltar companies  
act 1930 which is based on the uk 
companies act 1929 
going concern
after reviewing the group’s budget for 
2008 and its mediumterm plans the 
directors are confident that the company 
and the group have adequate financial 
resources to continue in operational 
existence for the foreseeable future they 
have therefore continued to adopt the 
going concern basis in preparing its 
financial statements
corporate and social  
responsibility statement
the group’s chief executive officer is 
the director responsible for monitoring 
corporate and social responsibility within 
888 the board receives periodic reports 
on the group’s activities in this area from 
the chief executive officer further 
details are set out in the responsible 
gaming report on page 25
community 
sponsorship
888 is a sizeable employer with a visible 
presence in gibraltar and enjoys a good 
relationship with the local community 
during 2007 the group continued its 
policy of reinforcing this relationship by 
making contributions to a number of 
local causes primarily educational 
charities
in 2007 the group made donations 
totalling us232000 2006 us32000 
to organisations promoting various social 
causes in gibraltar and israel
corporate governance 
conti nu ed annual report  accounts 2007 37
in accordance with the listing rules  
the company presents its report on the 
remuneration of its directors for the  
year ended 31 december 2007 the 
company is incorporated in gibraltar 
and therefore is not required to comply 
with the directors’ remuneration report 
requirements in schedule 7a to the uk 
companies act 1985 but has chosen to 
prepare this remuneration report on the 
basis of those requirements
the report sets out the structure  
and details of the remuneration of  
the directors for the year ended 
31 december 2007 it also describes  
the board’s policy and approach to  
the principles of good governance 
relating to directors’ remuneration
a resolution to approve the 
remuneration report is proposed 
annually to shareholders for approval 
this remuneration report will be put to 
shareholder vote at the 2008 annual 
general meeting
remuneration committee
the remuneration committee consists 
solely of independent nonexecutive 
directors currently brian mattingley 
chair michael constantine and amos 
pickel details of attendances at 
committee meetings are contained in the 
statement on corporate governance on 
page 33 the remuneration committee 
has formal terms of reference which  
are available on request in writing  
to the company secretary and  
on the company’s website 
www888holdingsplccom
the board has overall responsibility for 
determining the framework of executive 
remuneration and its cost it is required 
to take account of any recommendation 
made by the remuneration committee  
in determining the remuneration  
benefits and employment packages  
of the executive directors and senior 
management and the fees of  
the chairman
remu nerati on report
independent advice
the board intends that executive 
remuneration policies be both formal and 
transparent it further acknowledges the 
importance of taking into consideration 
independent advice in setting 
remuneration policies and benefit levels 
the remuneration committee has  
taken advice from new bridge street 
consultants as independent advisors 
with respect to executive directors’ 
remuneration towards the end of 2006 
and therefore further advice was not 
required during 2007 the policies 
applied in 2007 are consistent with  
that advice
remuneration policy
executive directors
remuneration packages must be 
sufficient to attract retain and motivate 
directors of the calibre appropriate  
to a global business in a competitive 
environment the components of  
the remuneration structure are set  
out hereafter
at least half of the total potential 
remuneration of the chief executive 
officer and the chief financial officer  
are represented by a variable element 
dependent on the performance of the 
company the remuneration committee 
considers that these represent 
achievable and motivational levels  
of personal rewards commensurate  
with stipulated levels of corporate 
performance 
the remuneration committee is 
mandated by the board to satisfy itself 
that the level of the directors’ and senior 
management’s remuneration is 
appropriate having regard to pay and 
conditions throughout the rest of the 
sectors in which the group operates  
it will further satisfy itself that such 
remuneration aligns with the risks and 
rewards to shareholders in this context 
the remuneration committee will 
regularly review individual and corporate 
performance targets
nonexecutive directors
the chairman and the nonexecutive 
directors receive fees only and are not 
eligible to participate in any bonus plan 
pension plan share plan or longterm 
incentive plan of the company the 
chairman and the executive directors 
determine the fees paid to the non
executive directors the chairman’s fee 
is determined by the remuneration 
committee
fees paid to the nonexecutive directors 
are set by reference to an assessment of 
the time commitment and responsibility 
associated with each role levels take 
account of additional demands placed 
upon individual nonexecutive directors 
by virtue of their holding particular 
offices such as committee chairman 
andor deputy chairman and travel time 
to the group’s headquarters in gibraltar 
the fees paid to each nonexecutive 
director during 2007 are disclosed in the 
directors’ remuneration summary on 
page 40
remuneration structure
base salary and benefits
base salaries are subject to annual 
review gigi levy’s last review took place 
in november 2006 and his salary for 
2007 was raised to gbp420000 aviad 
kobrine’s last review took place in 
september 2006 and his aggregate 
salary for 2007 which is paid by his 
employers the company and cassava 
enterprises gibraltar limited was raised 
to gbp275000 neither salary was 
raised during the 2007 financial year 
benefits provided to executive directors 
include a car in the case of gigi levy 
and a car allowance in the case of  
aviad kobrine and health disability  
and life insurance 
annual cash bonus
gigi levy and aviad kobrine are entitled 
to an annual cash bonus of up to 120 
of annualised salary subject to the 
achievement of predetermined targets 
the remuneration committee sets  888 holdings public limited company 38
bonus targets and levels of eligibility each 
year for the 2007 financial year the 
performance target was 20 growth in 
revenue compared to 2006 for nonus 
business and provided that the ebitda 
margin for 2006 will be maintained the 
pay out levels were set at 50 of base 
salary for 80 performance increasing 
on a linear basis up to 100 where 
targets were fully satisfied in the event 
that revenue growth exceeded 20 the 
percentage bonus entitlement increased 
by 4 for every 1 additional revenue 
growth up to a total bonus entitlement  
of 120
these targets were met in full during  
the 2007 year and both gigi levy and 
aviad kobrine are entitled to receive  
the maximum annual cash bonus which 
was 120 of their annualised 2007 
salary the bonuses are payable by 
 their respective employers the 
remuneration committee has rigorously 
reviewed the results achieved against  
the performance targets set for the  
2007 financial year the remuneration 
committee and is satisfied that the 
targets it set upfront were challenging 
and the bonuses awarded were earned 
by outstanding performance
pensions
gigi levy and aviad kobrine are each 
entitled to a cash payment in lieu of an 
annual contribution to their personal 
pension schemes of 15 of their 
respective base salaries in the case of 
aviad kobrine 15 of his basic salary 
under both service agreements 
long term incentives 
on 30 august 2005 the company 
adopted two employee share incentive 
plans which took effect on flotation  
i the 888 allemployee share  
plan and ii the 888 long  
term incentive plan 
the company currently grants awards 
only under the 888 allemployee plan 
remu nerati on report 
conti nu ed the 888 long term incentive plan was 
approved prior to flotation but no awards 
have been granted under it 
performancedependent options and 
awards were granted under the 888  
allemployee plan to the executive 
directors and other senior executives  
on 14 september 2006 30 april 2007  
30 may 2007 and 10 september 2007 
details of these awards and options are 
set out on pages 42 and 43 
888 allemployee share plan
all employees exclusive consultants  
and executive directors of the group 
who are not within six months of their 
normal retirement age are eligible to 
participate in the 888 allemployee  
share plan at the discretion of the 
remuneration committee 
awards under the 888 allemployee 
share plan can either be granted for no 
consideration or with a nil exercise price 
or at an exercise price that will normally 
be no less than the market value of an 
ordinary share at the time of grant or 
average share price during a period as 
determined by the remuneration 
committee at time of grant in countries 
where an award or option involving real 
shares is not appropriate or feasible for 
legal regulatory or tax reasons a 
phantom award may be used
the maximum number of ordinary 
shares that an eligible employee may 
acquire pursuant to share awards or 
options granted to him in any calendar 
year under the 888 allemployee share 
plan and the 888 long term incentive 
plan may not have an aggregate market 
value as measured at the date of grant 
exceeding 200 of his annual base 
salary or such higher limits as the 
remuneration committee may determine 
is appropriate in any individual case 
awards vest in installments over a  
fixed period of up to four years the 
remuneration committee may determine 
that the vesting and release or exercise 
of share awards and options under the 
888 allemployee share plan is subject 
to performance conditions imposed at 
the time of grant 
the performance conditions which 
determine the vesting of the options and 
awards granted on 12 september 2006 
to executive directors and members of 
senior management are driven solely  
by financial performance not by 
comparison to an external peer group 
vesting occurs over a period of four 
consecutive years starting in april 2007 
and is subject to target growth in the 
company’s annual eps excluding share 
benefit charges in each year eps must 
grow by a target of at least 20 in order 
for 100 of the award for that year to 
vest for the 2008 financial year 40 of 
the award vested upon fulfilment of the 
performance conditions in full 10 of 
the award having vested during 2007 
with the remaining 50 of the award 
capable of vesting over 2009 and 2010 
50 of the award vests upon 
achievement of 80 of the target eps 
growth rate and increases on a linear 
basis up to 100 upon achievement of 
100 of the target eps growth if the 
threshold of 80 of target eps growth 
rate is not met in any one year the 
portion of the award due to vest in  
that year shall lapse performance 
conditions are capable of being 
amended by the remuneration 
committee if circumstances which 
prevailed at the date of grant have 
subsequently changed provided that the 
amended performance conditions would 
be a fairer measure of performance 
	 subject 	 to	 certain	 adjustments	 as	 determined	 by	 the	 remuneration	 committee annual report  accounts 2007 39
eps was taken as the parameter for 
these performance conditions as the 
remuneration committee is of the view 
that given the nature of the industry in 
which the company operates where its 
share price performance is heavily 
influenced by external factors outside its 
control that it is a better measure of the 
company’s own performance the 
remuneration committee is of the view 
that these performance conditions 
provide a focus on delivering absolute 
financial returns
888 long term incentive plan
all employees and executive directors of 
the group who are not within six months 
of their normal retirement age are eligible 
to participate in the 888 long term 
incentive plan at the discretion of the 
remuneration committee as at the date 
of this report no awards have been 
granted pursuant to the 888 long term 
incentive plan 888 has given longterm 
incentive awards to executive directors 
under the 888 all employee plan 
scheme limits 
awards and options granted under the 
888 allemployee share plan and the 
888 long term incentive plan may be 
satisfied through the issue of new shares 
it is intended that grants of options and 
awards are to be planned so as not to 
exceed 5 of the issued ordinary share 
capital in any rolling 10 year period for 
the 888 long term incentive plan and 
10 of the issued ordinary share capital 
in any rolling 10 year period for the 888 
allemployee share plan and the 888 
long term incentive plan in the 
aggregate the committee intends to 
have regard to appropriate annual flow
rates so as to ensure that these limits are 
not breached
employee trusts
the company has established two 
trusts to further the interests of the 
company its subsidiaries and 
shareholders by providing share 
incentives to employees including 
executive directors of any group 
company to enable the group to attract 
retain and motivate employees
the 888 ipo share award trust and the 
888 holdings plc share plan trust were 
created pursuant to trust deeds dated 
14 september 2005 the 888 ipo share 
award trust is operated in connection 
with the grant of share awards and nil 
cost options to employees of the group 
at the time of the ipo these trusts 
current hold 162361 ordinary shares in 
the company
director appointments – service 
contracts and directors’ fees
executive directors
each executive director’s service 
agreement is terminable on no more than 
12 months’ written notice by either party 
each executive director’s employment 
can be terminated by making a payment 
equal to the salary and pension 
contributions and the value of other 
contractual benefits due to the executive 
director in lieu of any unexpired notice 
period the executive directors continue 
to be entitled to be paid a bonus during 
any unexpired part of the notice period 
even if the employment is terminated by 
making payment in lieu of notice awards 
granted under the 888 allemployee 
share plan to gigi levy and aviad 
kobrine pursuant to their service 
agreements on 14 september 2006 and 
29 september and 4 october 2005 
respectively continue to vest during any 
unexpired part of the notice period and 
they shall be treated as a “good leaver” 
under the terms of the 888 allemployee 
share plan where their employment has 
been terminated by making a payment in 
lieu of notice no other benefits upon 
termination of employment are payable 
an executive director’s entitlement to 
share awards and share options under 
the 888 allemployee plan on termination 
of employment will be governed by the 
terms of that plan and in the case of the 
initial awards made to gigi levy and 
aviad kobrine by the relevant provisions 
of their service agreements 888 holdings public limited company 40
  employer 
name position contracting party document date
gigi levy chief executive officer the company 18062006
aviad kobrine chief financial officer the company 14092005 
aviad kobrine chief financial officer cassava enterprises gibraltar limited 14092005 
 whollyowned subsidiary of the company
chairman and nonexecutive directors
the chairman and the nonexecutive directors do not have service contracts but have signed letters of appointment
nonexecutive directors’ appointments which are for a fixed term of three years may be terminated by the company without 
notice in accordance with the company’s articles of association and the gibraltar companies act 1930 except for the chairman 
who is required to be given six months’ prior written notice of termination no compensation is payable on the termination of the 
appointment 
  employer 
name position contracting party document date 
richard kilsby chairman the company 14032006
brian mattingley deputy chairman the company 14032006
john anderson nonexecutive director the company 13092006
michael constantine nonexecutive director the company 14092005
amos pickel nonexecutive director the company 14032006
shay benyitzhak nonexecutive director the company 18062006
directors’ remuneration summary 
the cash emoluments or fees received by the directors for 2007 are shown below
  base   pensions total total 
  salaryfees bonus benefits allowance  2007 2006 
  us’000
1
 us’000  us’000 us’000  us’000 us’000
executive
gigi levy 841 1007 36 126 2010 1058
aviad kobrine
2
 553 683 31
3
 83 1350 1162
nonexecutive
richard kilsby 402  22  424 278
brian mattingley 161    161 141
michael constantine 121    121 111
john anderson 141    141 5983
shay benyitzhak      – 256
amos pickel 121 – –  121 93
total  2340 1690 89 209 4328 9082
1 where directors’ remuneration is denominated in sterling costs have been converted at the applicable rate of exchange at the transaction date
2 part of mr kobrine’s remuneration is paid by one of his employers cassava enterprises gibraltar limited a whollyowned subsidiary of the company
3 mr kobrine was awarded a special oneoff bonus of us25000 in recognition of specific achievements during the year in addition to his annual bonus
 
remu nerati on report 
conti nu ed annual report  accounts 2007 41
directors’ interests in ordinary shares
the notified interests of executive and nonexecutive directors in the issued share capital of the company are
 ordinary shares
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006
executive
gigi levy    534256 –
aviad kobrine     296061 202258
nonexecutive
richard kilsby    114285 114285
brian mattingley    142857 142857
michael constantine    22857 22857
john anderson     1988869 1146129 
shay benyitzhak
1
    37122358 57522358
amos pickel    – –
  
1  these shares are held on trust and are subject to a relationship agreement dated 14 september 2005 between among others the company and the 
principal shareholder trusts further details can be found on page 46
except where stated all interests were held beneficially
  888 holdings public limited company 42
directors’ interests in share awards and share options 
the number of shares subject to share awards or share options granted to the executive directors in 2007 and outstanding as at 
31 december 2007 are set out below 
          market  
    earliest      price at  
    exercise exercise  awards at   exercise exercised 
   date of vesting period exercise 31 december awarded vested in vesting transferred 
  notes award date enddate price 2006 2007 2007 date 2007
gigi levy
1
  2 4 14906 18607 na £nil 337096  337096 12025p
    18608 na £nil 337096
    18609 na £nil 337096
    18610 na £nil 337097
  2 6 14906 14407 na £nil 58315  58315 128p
    14408 na £nil 233260
    14409 na £nil 145787
    14410 na £nil 145787
  2 5 14906 18607 na £nil 138845  138845 12025p
    18608 na £nil 138845
    18609 na £nil 138845
    19610 na £nil 138845
remu nerati on report 
conti nu ed annual report  accounts 2007 43
          market  
    earliest      price at  
    exercise exercise  awards at   exercise exercised 
   date of vesting period exercise 31 december awarded vested in vesting transferred 
  notes award date enddate price 2006 2007 2007 date 2007
aviad kobrine
  2 4 29905 41007 na £nil 55621  55621 11625p
    41008 na £nil 55621
    41009 na £nil 55621
  3 4 41005 41007 41015 £nil 45508  45508 11625p 45508
    41008 41015 £nil 45508
    41009 41015 £nil 45508
  3 6 14906 14407 14916 £nil 15620  15620 128p
    14408 14916 £nil 62480
    14409 14916 £nil 39050
    14410 14916 £nil 39050
  2 6 14906 14407 na £nil 19091  19091 128p
    14408 na £nil 76365
    14409 na £nil 47728
    14410 na £nil 47728
  2 6 30407 30407 na £nil – 1909 1909 12025p
    14408 na £nil – 7636
    14409 na £nil – 4773
    14410 na £nil – 4772
  3 6 30407 30407 30417 £nil – 1562 1562 12025p
    14408 30417 £nil – 6248
    14409 30417 £nil – 3905
    14410 30417 £nil – 3905
all awards were made through the 888 allemployee share plan 
1 date of appointment being 18 june 2006 for gigi levy
2 awarded as a share award
3 awarded as a nil cost option
4 this award was granted pursuant to gigi levy’s service agreement this award was granted to gigi levy upon his recruitment as a oneoff award to  
secure his appointment
5 this oneoff discretionary award was made in order to secure gigi levy’s appointment and is subject to his annual cash bonus criteria being met 
6 vesting subject to performance conditions as described on page 38 and 39
the closing price of one ordinary share was 142p at 31 december 2007 the highest closing price during 2007 was 142p and the 
lowest was 965p
no director was materially interested during the year in any contract which was significant in relation to the business of the 
company otherwise than as disclosed in the prospectus or these report and accounts 888 holdings public limited company 44
total shareholder return
the chart below shows the value of an investment of sterling £100 in the company’s shares and in the ftse 250 index from 
admission to 31 december 2007 the directors have chosen the ftse 250 index as the most appropriate comparator index as the 
company was a constituent member until october 2006 
value of sterling £100 in 888 since ipo v ftse 250
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
0
29905
291005
291105
291205
29106
29206
29306
29406
29506
29606
29706
29806
29906
291006
291106
291206
29107
29207
29307
29407
29507
29607
29707
29807
29907
291007
291107
291207
value of sterling 100 in 888 since ipo v ftse 250
888 share           ftse 250
approval
this report was approved by the board and signed on its behalf by
brian mattingley
chairman of the
remuneration committee
8 april 2008
remu nerati on report 
conti nu ed annual report  accounts 2007 45
the directors submit to the members their annual report and accounts of the group for the year ended 31 december 2007 the 
report on corporate governance and the remuneration report on pages 33 to 36 and 37 to 44 respectively form part of this 
directors’ report
principal activities
during 2007 the group’s principal activities were the provision of online gaming entertainment to end customers as well as 
business partners a review of the business is given in the chairman’s statement on pages 4 to 5 the chief executive’s review 
on pages 6 to 9 and the enhanced business review on pages 10 to 30
the principal subsidiary undertakings are listed on page 69
results and dividend
the group’s profit before tax for the financial year excluding share benefit charges of us78 million of us458 million is reported 
in the consolidated income statement on page 50 it is the intention of the directors to declare a final dividend in respect of the 
financial year in an amount of 50 cents per share 
directors and their interests 
biographical details of the current board of directors are shown on page 32 the directors who served during the year are shown 
below
richard kilsby appointed 30 august 2005 and reappointed 10 may 2006
gigi levy appointed 18 june 2006 and reappointed 30 may 2007
aviad kobrine appointed 30 august 2005 and reappointed 10 may 2006
john anderson appointed 30 august 2005 and reappointed 30 may 2007
shay benyitzhak appointed 30 august 2005 and reappointed 10 may 2006
michael constantine appointed 30 august 2005 and reappointed 30 may 2007
brian mattingley appointed 30 august 2005 and reappointed 30 may 2007
amos pickel appointed 14 march 2006 and reappointed 30 may 2007
the beneficial and nonbeneficial interests of the directors in shares of the company are set out in the remuneration report  
on pages 37 to 44
except as noted above none of the directors had any interests in the shares of the company or in any material contract  
or arrangement with the company or any of its subsidiaries
richard kilsby shay ben itzhak and aviad kobrine will retire by rotation at the annual general meeting and being eligible  
will offer themselves for reelection
share capital
changes in the company’s share capital during the financial year are given in note 16 to the consolidated financial statements  
on page 67 as at 31 december 2007 the company’s authorised share capital comprised 340108035 ordinary shares of  
0005p each
rights attaching to ordinary shares
the rights and obligations attaching to ordinary shares are set out in the company’s articles of association holders of ordinary 
shares are entitled to attend and speak at general meetings of the company to appoint one or more proxies and to exercise 
voting rights holders of ordinary shares may receive a dividend and on liquidation may share in the assets of the company 
holders of ordinary shares are entitled to receive the company’s annual report subject to meeting certain thresholds holders  
of ordinary shares may requisition a general meeting of the company or the proposal of resolutions at general meetings
di rectors’ report 888 holdings public limited company 46
deadlines for exercising voting rights
electronic and paper proxy appointment and voting instructions must be received by the company’s registrars not later than  
48 hours before a general meeting
restrictions on transfer of shares and limitations on holdings
there are no restrictions on transfer or limitations on the holding of ordinary shares other than under restrictions imposed by law 
or regulation for example insider trading laws or pursuant to the company’s share dealing code
substantial shareholdings 
as at 31 december 2007 the company had been notified of the following interests in 3 or more of its share capital
      issued 
    number share 
principal shareholder trust    of shares capital
e shaked shares trust    86283534 254
o shaked shares trust    86283534 254
benyitzhak family shares trust    37122358 109
shareholder agreements and consent requirements
there are no known arrangements under which financial rights are held by a person other than the holder of the shares
a relationship agreement governing the relationship between the above principal shareholder trusts and the company was 
entered into in connection with the company’s flotation the relationship agreement provides that all transactions between the 
group and the principal shareholder trusts will be on a normal business basis that the group will be allowed to carry on business 
independently of them and that the principal shareholder trusts will not cause the group to contravene the combined code 
unless required by law or as contemplated in the relationship agreement it further provides that each of the principal shareholder 
trusts will not solicit group employees without consent that only independent directors can vote on proposals to amend the 
relationship agreement that the principal shareholder trusts will consult the group prior to disposing of a significant number of 
shares in order to maintain an orderly market and shall not disclose confidential information unless required to do so or having first 
received the company’s consent the relationship agreement also includes restrictions on the principal shareholder trusts power 
to appoint directors and obligations to ensure that the majority of the board excluding the chairman is independent the principal 
shareholder trusts can nominate a nonexecutive director for appointment to the board and the directors will consider the 
appointment of the nominated person to the remuneration committee in the event that this right is exercised and it results in 
fewer than half the board excluding the chairman of the board being independent directors such appointment shall only 
become effective upon the appointment to the board of an additional independent director such restrictions and obligations 
apply whilst the e shaked shares trust and o shaked shares trust collectively or the benyitzhak family shares trust individually 
hold not less than 75
change of control
other than the group’s gaming licences where change of control is subject to prior consent there are no contracts to which the 
group is a party which would allow the counterparty to terminate or alter those contractual arrangements in the event of a change 
of control of the group
di rectors ’ report 
conti nu ed annual report  accounts 2007 47
charitable contributions
contributions for charitable purposes 
were made during the year amounting to 
us232000 2006 us32000
directors’ responsibility statement
the directors are responsible for keeping 
proper accounting records which 
disclose with reasonable accuracy at  
any time the financial position of the 
company for safeguarding the assets 
for taking reasonable steps for the 
prevention and detection of fraud and 
other irregularities and for the preparation 
of a directors’ report which complies 
with the gibraltar companies accounts 
act 1999 the gibraltar companies 
consolidated accounts act 1999 and 
the gibraltar companies act 1930
financial statements are published on 
the group’s website in accordance  
with legislation in the uk governing  
the preparation and dissemination of 
financial statements which may vary 
from legislation in other jurisdictions  
the maintenance and integrity of the 
group’s website is the responsibility  
of the directors the directors’ 
responsibility also extends to the  
ongoing integrity of the financial 
statements contained therein
the directors are responsible for 
preparing the annual report and the 
financial statements the directors are 
required to prepare financial statements 
for the group in accordance with 
international financial reporting 
standards ifrss and have also chosen 
to prepare financial statements for the 
company in accordance with ifrss
group and parent company financial 
statements
company law requires the directors  
to prepare such financial statements  
in accordance with the gibraltar 
companies accounts act 1999 the 
gibraltar companies consolidated 
accounts act 1999 and the gibraltar 
companies act 1930
international accounting standard 1 
requires that financial statements present 
fairly for each financial year the group 
and company’s financial position 
financial performance and cash flows 
this requires the faithful representation of 
the effects of transactions other events 
and conditions in accordance with the 
definitions and recognition criteria for 
assets liabilities income and expenses 
set out in the international accounting 
standards board’s “framework for  
the preparation and presentation of 
financial statements” in virtually all 
circumstances a fair presentation will  
be achieved by compliance with all 
applicable ifrss 
 
a fair presentation also requires the 
directors to
consistently select and apply 
appropriate accounting policies
present information including 
accounting policies in a manner  
that provides relevant reliable 
comparable and understandable 
information and
provide additional disclosures when 
compliance with the specific 
requirements in ifrss is insufficient to 
enable members to understand the 
impact of particular transactions 
other events and conditions on the 
entity’s financial position and financial 
performance
•
•
•
auditors
a resolution for the reappointment of 
bdo stoy hayward llp and bdo orion 
limited as auditors of the company  
will be proposed at the 2008 annual 
general meeting
during the year ended 31 december 
2007 bdo stoy hayward llp were 
appointed auditors for the purposes  
of the company preparing financial 
statements as required pursuant to the 
listing rules of the uk listing authority 
bdo orion limited have been appointed 
to act as auditors for the purposes of 
issuing an audit report pursuant to 
section 10 of the gibraltar companies 
accounts act 1999 to be filed with the 
gibraltar companies registry
on behalf of the board 
gigi levy
chief executive officer
8 april 2008 888 holdings public limited company 48
we have audited the group and the company financial statements the “financial statements” of 888 holdings public limited 
company for the year ended 31 december 2007 which comprise the group income statement the group and company 
balance sheets the group and company cash flow statements the group and company statement of changes in equity  
and the related notes 1 to 24 to the consolidated financial statements and notes 1 to 11 to the company financial statements  
these financial statements have been prepared under the accounting policies set out therein we have also audited the parts  
of the remuneration report described as having been audited
respective responsibilities of directors and auditors
the directors’ responsibilities for preparing the annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law 
and international financial reporting standards “ifrss” as adopted by the european union are set out in the statement of 
directors’ responsibilities 888 holdings public limited company has complied with the requirements of rules 986 and 988 of 
the listing rules in preparing its annual report and has also complied with schedule 7a of the uk companies act 1985 as if it 
was incorporated in the uk
our responsibility is to audit the financial statements in accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements and 
international standards on auditing uk and ireland 
we report to you our opinion as to whether the financial statements give a true and fair view and whether the financial statements 
have been properly prepared in accordance with the gibraltar companies accounts act 1999 gibraltar companies 
consolidated accounts act 1999 and the gibraltar companies act 1930 and the part of the remuneration report described as 
having been audited has been properly prepared in accordance with schedule 7a of the uk companies act 1985 we also 
report to you if in our opinion the directors’ report is not consistent with the financial statements if the company has not kept 
proper accounting records if we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit or if information 
specified by the listing rules and gibraltar legislation is not disclosed
we review whether the corporate governance statement reflects the company’s compliance with the nine provisions of the 2006 
frc combined code specified for our review by the listing rules of the financial services authority and we report if it does not 
we are not required to consider whether the board’s statements on internal control cover all risks and controls or form an 
opinion on the effectiveness of the group’s corporate governance procedures or its risk and control procedures
we read other information contained in the annual report and consider whether it is consistent with the audited financial 
statements the other information comprises only the directors’ report chairman’s statement chief executive’s review 
enhanced business review regulatory and compliance review corporate governance statement and the unaudited part of 
the remuneration report we consider the implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent misstatements or 
material inconsistencies with the financial statements our responsibilities do not extend to any other information
our report has been prepared pursuant to the terms of our engagement letter and for no other purpose no person is entitled to 
rely on this report unless such a person is a person entitled to rely upon this report by virtue of the terms of our engagement 
letter or has been expressly authorised to do so by our prior written consent save as above we do not accept responsibility for 
this report to any other person or for any other purpose and we hereby expressly disclaim any and all such liability
basis of audit opinion
we conducted our audit in accordance with international standards on auditing uk and ireland issued by the auditing practices 
board an audit includes examination on a test basis of evidence relevant to the amounts and disclosures in the financial 
statements and the part of the remuneration report described as having been audited it also includes an assessment of the 
significant estimates and judgements made by the directors in the preparation of the financial statements and of whether the 
accounting policies are appropriate to the group’s and company’s circumstances consistently applied and adequately 
disclosed
we planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all the information and explanations which we considered necessary in 
order to provide us with sufficient evidence to give reasonable assurance that the financial statements and the parts of the 
remuneration report described as having been audited are free from material misstatement whether caused by fraud or other 
irregularity or error in forming our opinion we also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of information in the 
financial statements and the part of the remuneration report to be audited
independent aud itors’ r eport t o t he s h areholders  
of 888 h old ings p ubl ic li m ited c omp any annual report  accounts 2007 49
opinion
in our opinion
the group financial statements give a true and fair view in accordance with ifrss as adopted by the european union of the 
state of the group’s and the company’s affairs as at 31 december 2007 and of the group’s profit for the year then ended
the financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with the gibraltar companies accounts act 1999 
gibraltar companies consolidated accounts act 1999 and the gibraltar companies act 1930 and
the part of the remuneration report described as having been audited has been properly prepared in accordance with 
schedule 7a of the uk companies act 1985 and
the information provided in the directors’ report is consistent with the financial statements
emphasis of matter – regulatory issues
in forming our opinion which is not qualified we have considered the adequacy of and draw attention to the disclosures made 
in note 24 to the financial statements concerning the residual risk of an adverse impact arising from the group having had 
customers in the us prior to the enactment of the unlawful internet gambling enforcement act 
note 24 includes a statement that the board has not been able to identify reliably at this stage what if any liability may arise and 
accordingly no provision has been made
bdo stoy hayward llp bdo orion limited
chartered accountants registered auditors
55 baker street montagu pavilion
london w1u 7eu 810 queensway
uk  gibraltar
8 april 2008
•
•
•
• 888 holdings public limited company 50
c onsol id ated income s t atement for the ye ar ended 31 d ecember 2007
    year ended year ended 
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
   note us’000 us’000
net gaming revenue   2 213383 157000
other operating income   2 3563 –
total operating income    216946 157000
operating expenses    64864 49448
research and development expenses    23496 19381
selling and marketing expenses    70897 51037
administrative expenses   4 24660 28653
 operating profit before share benefit charges    40829 17310
 share benefit charges    7800 8829
operating profit   5 33029 8481
finance income    4957 4883
 profit before tax before share benefit charges    45786 22193
 share benefit charges   19 7800 8829
profit before tax    37986 13364
taxation   6 3199 3117
profit from continuing operations    34787 10247
lossprofit from discontinued operations   23 552 64254
profit after tax for the year attributable to equity holders of parent   34235 74501
earnings per share
    year ended year ended 
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
   note cents cents
continuing operations   7
basic    103 30
diluted    101 30
discontinued operations   23e
basic    02 191
diluted    02 188
total
basic    101 221
diluted    99 218
the notes on pages 54 to 77 form part of these financial statements annual report  accounts 2007 51
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
   note us’000 us’000
assets
noncurrent assets
intangible assets   10 40656 –
property plant and equipment   11 16496 13033 
financial assets   12 654 –
deferred taxes   13 537 546
    58343 13579
current assets
cash and cash equivalents   14 104308 114356
trade and other receivables   15 19530 9669
    123838 124025
total assets    182181 137604
equity and liabilities
equity attributable to equity holders of the parent 
share capital   16 3097 3073
available for sale reserve    105 –
retained earnings    89735 83929
total equity attributable to equity holders of the parent    92727 87002
liabilities
current liabilities
trade and other payables   17 63040 27931
member deposits    26414 22671
total liabilities    89454 50602
total equity and liabilities    182181 137604
the financial statements on pages 50 to 77 were approved and authorised for issue by the board of directors on 8 april 2008 
and were signed on its behalf by
gigi levy aviad kobrine
chief executive officer chief financial officer
the notes on pages 54 to 77 form part of these financial statements
c onsol id ated ba l ance s heet at 31 d ecember 2007 888 holdings public limited company 52
   available for retained 
  share capital sale reserve earnings total 
  us’000 us’000 us’000 us’000
balance at 1 january 2006  3068 – 29262 32330
net profit for the year  – – 74501 74501
dividend paid  – – 28658 28658
issue of shares  5 – 5 –
share benefit charges  – – 8829 8829
balance at 1 january 2007  3073 – 83929 87002
net profit for the year  – – 34235 34235
dividend paid  – – 36205 36205
issue of shares  24 – 24 –
valuationlosses of available for sale investments  – 105 – 105
share benefit charges  – – 7800 7800
balance at 31 december 2007  3097 105 89735 92727
the following describes the nature and purpose of each reserve within equity
share capital – represents the nominal value of shares allotted calledup and fully paid for
available for sale reserve – represents the gain or loss arising from a change in the fair value of an available for sale  
financial assets
retained earnings – represents the cumulative net gains and losses recognised in the consolidated income statement 
the notes on pages 54 to 77 form part of these financial statements
c onsol id ated s t atement of c h anges in e qu ity 
for the ye ar ended 31 d ecember 2007 annual report  accounts 2007 53
  year ended year ended year ended year ended 
  31 december 31 december 31 december 31 december 
  2007 2007 2006 2006 
  us’000 us’000 us’000 us’000
cash flows from operating activities
 profit before income tax  37434  77618 
adjustments for 
 depreciation  4192  3801
 loss on sale of property plant and equipment  –  29
 amortisation  1550  –
 interest received  5434  4879
 share benefit charges  7800  8829
  45542  85398 
increasedecrease in trade receivables  7241  6346
decrease in related party balances  –  1331
increase in other accounts receivables  2620  1002
increasedecrease in trade payables  2186  1439
increasedecrease in member deposits  3743  6654
increase in other accounts payables  7663  3527
cash generated from operations  49273  87507
income tax paid  3075  3052
net cash generated from operating activities   46198  84455
cash flows from investing activities
 acquisition of assets comprising of the online  
  bingo business of globalcom limited see note 9  17142  –
 purchase of property plant and equipment  7574  8621
 proceeds from sale of property plant and equipment  –  99
 interest received  5434  4879
 acquisition of available for sale assets  759  –
net cash used in investing activities   20041  3643
cash flows from financing activities
 dividends paid  36205  28658
net cash used in financing activities   36205  28658
net decreaseincrease in cash and cash equivalents   10048  52154
cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year   114356  62202
cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year   104308  114356
the notes on pages 54 to 77 form part of these financial statements
c onsol id ated s t atement of ca sh f lows for the ye ar ended 31 d ecember 2007 888 holdings public limited company 54
1 general information
company description and activities 
888 holdings public limited company the “company” and its subsidiaries together the “group” was founded in 1997 and 
originally operated as a holding company domiciled in the british virgin islands on 12 january 2000 the company was 
continued in antigua and barbuda as a corporation under the international business corporation act 1982 with registered 
number 12512 on 17 december 2003 the company redomiciled in gibraltar with the company number 90099 on 4 october 
2005 the company listed on the london stock exchange
the group has developed and is the owner of innovative proprietary software applications solutions for virtual casinos for poker 
rooms ecommerce creditcard clearing services and online advertising methodologies the group also offers sportsbetting 
bingo games and backgammon to end users as well as business partners
cassava enterprises gibraltar limited and brigend limited both subsidiaries carried out the operations of the group during the 
year principally under the name www888com under the terms of a gaming licence issued in gibraltar 
definitions 
in these financial statements
the company 888 holdings public limited company
the group 888 holdings public limited company and its subsidiaries
subsidiaries companies over which the company has control as defined in international accounting standard 27 
“consolidated and separate financial statements” and whose accounts are consolidated with those of 
the company
related parties as defined in international accounting standard 24 – “related party disclosures”
emerging offerings comprises the group’s offering of bingo games to end users and business partners backgammon and 
betting exchange
2 significant accounting policies
the significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows
basis of preparation
the consolidated financial statements of the group have been prepared in accordance with international financial reporting 
standards including international accounting standards “ias” and interpretations adopted by the international accounting 
standards board “iasb” and endorsed for use by companies listed on an eu regulated market
the significant accounting policies applied in the financial statements of the group in the prior years are applied consistently in 
these financial statements
the financial statements are presented in thousands of us dollars us’000 because that is the currency the group primarily 
operates in
the consolidated financial statements comply with the gibraltar companies accounts act 1999 the gibraltar companies 
consolidated accounts act 1999 and the gibraltar companies act 1930
the following standards and interpretations issued by the iasb or the international financial reporting interpretations 
committee ifric are effective for the first time in the current financial year and have been adopted by the group with no 
significant impact on its consolidated results or financial position
ifrs 7 – financial instruments disclosure effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 january 2007 additional 
disclosure has been included in the financial statements to comply with this standard
ifric 7 – applying the restatement approach under ias 29 – financial reporting in hyperinflationary economies effective for 
annual periods beginning on or after 1 march 2006
ifric 8 – scope of ifrs 2 – accounting for sharebased payments effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 may 
2006
ifric 9 – reassessment of embedded derivatives effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 june 2006
ifric 10 – interim financial reporting and impairment effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 november 2006
n otes to the c onsol id ated fi n anc ial s t atements annual report  accounts 2007 55
2 significant accounting policies continued
the following standards and interpretations issued by the iasb or ifric have not been adopted by the group as these were not 
effective for the year 2007 the group is currently assessing the impact these standards and interpretations will have on the 
presentation of its consolidated results in future periods
ias 1 amendment – presentation of financial statements effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 january 2009 – 
ias 1 has not been endorsed for use in the eu
ifric 11 ifrs 2 – group and treasury share transactions effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 march 2007 ifric 
11 has been endorsed for use in the eu
ifric 12 – service concession arrangements effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 january 2008 ifric 12 has 
not been endorsed for use in the eu
ifric 13 – customer loyalty programmes effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 july 2008 ifric 13 has not been 
endorsed for use in the eu
ifric 14 – the limit on defined benefit asset minimum funding requirements and their interaction effective for annual periods 
beginning on or after 1 january 2008 ifric 19 has not been endorsed for use in the eu
ias 23 amendment – borrowing costs effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 january 2009 ias 23 has not been 
endorsed for use in the eu
ias 27 – consolidated and separate financial statements effective for periods beginning on or after 1 july 2009 ias 27 has not 
been endorsed for use in the eu
ifrs 2 amendment – vesting conditions and cancellations effective for accounting periods beginning on or after  
1 january 2009 ifrs 2 amendment has not yet been endorsed for use in the eu
ifrs 3 revised – business combinations effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 january 2009  
ifrs 3 revised has not yet been endorsed for use in the eu
ifrs 8 – operating segments effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 january 2009 contains requirements for the 
disclosure of information about an entity’s operating segments and also about the entity’s products and services the 
geographical areas in which it operates and its major customers the standard is concerned only with disclosure and replaces 
ias 14 – segment reporting ifrs 8 has been endorsed for use in the eu
amendments to ias 32 financial instruments presentation and ias 1 presentation of financial statements – puttable financial 
instruments and obligations arising on liquidation effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 january 2009 these 
amendments have not been endorsed for use in the eu
critical accounting policies estimates and judgements
the preparation of consolidated financial statements under ifrs requires the group to make estimates and judgements that 
affect the application of policies and reported amounts estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on 
historical experience and other factors including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the 
circumstances actual results may differ from these estimates
included in this note are accounting policies which cover areas that the directors consider require estimates and assumptions which 
have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities within the next financial year 
these policies together with references to the related notes to the financial statements can be found below 
taxation     note 6
intangible assets acquired     note 9
impairment of goodwill     note 10
consolidation on the basis of control     note 18
sharebased payments     note 19
regulatory compliance and contingent liabilities     note 24 888 holdings public limited company 56
2 significant accounting policies continued
presentation of continuing and discontinued operations
as a result of enactment of the unlawful internet gambling enforcement act “uigea” in october 2006 the group withdrew from 
offering realmoney activity to the us facing market
although the group did not operate the us facing business as a separate business it was a separate geographical segment of 
the group’s business and in accordance with ifrs 5 – “noncurrent assets held for sale and discontinued operations” the 
income statement and related notes are required to show continued and discontinued operations separately 
net gaming revenue and certain direct costs associated with the discontinued operations which are of distinct nature were 
allocated accordingly other costs such as rd expenses it expenses share benefit charges office rent and associated  
cost depreciation of fixed assets gaming duty directors’ and officers’ insurance directors’ fees and tax which are not 
distinguishable were all allocated to the continuing operations and not to the discontinued business in allocating the rest of the 
costs of the group between the two operations management has applied reasonable estimates in accordance with applicable 
accounting standards however as estimates have necessarily been used in disclosing a geographical segment as discontinued 
operations the results do not necessarily reflect the financial performance which would have been achieved had the discontinued 
operations been managed as a standalone business
the matters described above mainly refer to the year ended 31 december 2006 as during 2007 any cost associated with the 
discontinued operations was clearly distinguishable
basis of consolidation
the consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the company and its subsidiaries the subsidiaries are companies 
controlled by 888 holdings public limited company control exists where the company has the power to govern the financial 
and operating policies of an entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities subsidiaries are consolidated from the date the 
parent gained control until such time as control ceases 
the financial statements of the subsidiaries are included in the consolidated financial statements using the purchase method of 
accounting on the date of the acquisition the assets and liabilities of a subsidiary are measured at their fair values and any 
excess of the fair value of the consideration over the fair values of the identifiable net assets acquired is recognised as goodwill
intercompany transactions and balances are eliminated on consolidation
the financial statements of subsidiaries are prepared for the same reporting period as the parent company and using consistent 
accounting policies
 
net gaming revenue 
revenue is recognised to the extent that it is probable that economic benefits will flow to the group and the revenue can be 
reliably measured revenue is recognised in the accounting periods in which the gaming transactions occurred
net gaming revenue is defined as follows 
casino	
casino winnings that are the differences between the amounts of bets placed by members less amounts won by members
poker
ring games rake which is the commission charged from each winning hand played
tournaments  entry fees charged for participation in poker tournaments are recognised when the tournament  
has concluded
emerging	offerings		 net gaming revenue from emerging offerings is defined as the commission charged from winnings or entry fees charged for 
participation in a tournament in the case of white label activity revenue is the net commission charged
casino winnings revenues from the poker business and emerging offerings are stated after deduction of certain bonuses 
granted to members 
other operating income 
other operating income consists mainly of revenue generated from processing customers’ cross currency deposits and 
withdrawals effectively reducing costs associated with payment service providers
n otes to the c onsol id ated fi n anc ial s t atements 
cont inued annual report  accounts 2007 57
2 significant accounting policies continued
foreign currency
monetary assets and liabilities denominated in nonus dollar currencies are translated into us dollar equivalents using yearend 
spot foreign exchange rates nonmonetary assets and liabilities are translated using exchange rates prevailing at the dates of the 
transactions exchange rate differences on foreign currency transactions are included in administrative expenses
the results and financial position of all group entities that have a functional currency different from us dollars are translated into 
the presentation currency as follows
i monetary assets and liabilities for each balance sheet presented are translated at the closing rate at the date of that balance 
sheet
ii income and expenses for each income statement are translated at an average exchange rate unless this average is not a 
reasonable approximation of the cumulative effect of the rates prevailing on the transaction dates in which case income and 
expenses are translated at the dates of the transactions
iii exchange rate differences on translation of group entities that have functional currencies different from us dollars are 
included in administrative expenses
taxation
the tax expense represents tax payable for the year based on currently applicable tax rates
deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognised where the carrying amount of an asset or liability in the balance sheet differs 
from its tax base recognition of deferred tax assets is restricted to those instances where it is probable that taxable profit will be 
available against which the difference can be utilised the amount of the asset or liability is determined using tax rates that have 
been enacted or substantively enacted by the balance sheet date and are expected to apply when the deferred tax liabilities
assets are settledrecovered 
research and development costs
research and development expenditure is charged to the statement of income as incurred ias 38 “intangible assets” requires 
capitalisation of certain software development costs subsequent to technological and commercial feasibility being established 
and the group having sufficient resources to complete development based on the group’s productdevelopment process 
technological feasibility and therefore the creation of substantially improved product is only established upon the completion of a 
working model the group generally does not incur any significant costs between the completion of the working model and the 
point at which the product is ready for general release 
intangible assets
identifiable assets liabilities and contingent liabilities that meet the conditions for recognition under ifrs 3 are recognised at their 
fair value at the acquisition date the identified intangibles are amortised over the useful economic life of the assets for 
acquisitions during the year 2007 the useful economic life of the intangible assets acquired is estimated to be between three 
months and four years intangible assets are reviewed annually for evidence of impairment 
goodwill
goodwill represents the excess of the cost of a business combination over the interest in the fair value of the identifiable assets 
liabilities and contingent liabilities acquired cost comprises the fair value of any assets given liabilities assumed and equity 
instruments issued plus any direct costs of acquisition
goodwill is capitalised as an intangible asset with any impairment in carrying value being charged to the consolidated income 
statement where the fair value of identifiable assets liabilities and contingent liabilities exceed the fair value of consideration 
paid the excess is credited in full to the consolidated income statement on the acquisition 
property plant and equipment
property plant and equipment is stated at historic cost less accumulated depreciation carrying amounts are reviewed  
at each balance sheet date for impairment
depreciation is calculated using the straightline method at annual rates estimated to write off the cost of the assets less their 
estimated residual values over their expected useful lives the annual depreciation rates are as follows 
it equipment 33
office furniture and equipment 7–15
motor vehicles 15
leasehold improvements over the shorter of the term of the lease or useful lives 888 holdings public limited company 58
2 significant accounting policies continued
impairment of nonfinancial assets
impairment tests on goodwill and other intangible assets with indefinite useful economic lives are undertaken annually on  
31 december other nonfinancial assets are subject to impairment tests whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate 
that their carrying amount may not be recoverable where the carrying value of an asset exceeds its recoverable amount ie the 
higher of value in use and fair value less costs to sell the asset is written down accordingly
where it is not possible to estimate the recoverable amount of an individual asset the impairment test is carried out on  
the asset’s cash generating unit ie the lowest group of assets in which the asset belongs for which there are separately 
identifiable cash flows
financial instruments
the group does not hold or issue derivative financial instruments for trading purposes 
trade	receivables
trade receivables are recognised at fair value and carried at amortised cost and principally comprise amounts due from the 
creditcard companies and from epayment companies an estimate for doubtful debts is made when collection of the full 
amount is no longer probable bad debts are written off when identified
cash	and	cash	equivalents
cash comprises cash in hand and balances with banks cash equivalents are short term highly liquid investments that are 
readily convertible to known amounts of cash they include shortterm bank deposits originally purchased with maturities  
of three months or less 
equity
equity issued by the company is recorded as the proceeds received net of direct issue costs
trade	and	other	payables
trade and other payables are recognised at fair value and carried at amortised cost
member	deposits
member deposits are the amounts that clients place in the group’s electronic “wallet” or bankroll including provision for bonuses 
granted by the group less management fees and charges applied to member accounts along with full provision for casino 
jackpots these amounts are repayable on demand in accordance with the applicable terms and conditions
available	for	sale	financial	assets
available for sale financial assets comprise nonderivative financial assets not included in any of the above financial categories 
are classified as available for sale and comprise principally the group’s investments in entities not qualifying as subsidiaries  
they are carried at fair value with changes in fair value recognised directly in a separate component of equity where there is a 
significant decline in the fair value of an available for sale financial asset the full amount of the impairment including any amount 
previously charged to equity is recognised in the income statement
chargebacks and returned echeques
the cost of chargebacks and returned echeques is included in operating expenses
leases
leases are classified as finance leases wherever the terms of the lease transfer substantially all the risks and rewards of 
ownership to the group all other leases are classified as operating leases and rentals payable are charged to income on a 
straightline basis over the term of the lease
provisions
provisions are recognised when the group has a present or constructive obligation as a result of a past event from which  
it is probable that it will result in an outflow of economic benefits that can be reasonably estimated
segment information
a business segment is a distinguishable component of the group that is engaged in providing an individual product or service or 
a group of related products or services and that is subject to risks and returns that are different from those of other business 
segments a geographical segment is a distinguishable component of the group that is engaged in providing products or 
services within a particular environment and that is subject to risks and returns that are different from those of components 
operating in other economic environments 
n otes to the c onsol id ated fi n anc ial s t atements 
cont inued annual report  accounts 2007 59
2 significant accounting policies continued
the group operates in the following online gaming segments
casino
poker 
emerging offerings is a new segment added during the year which comprises mainly the newly acquired bingo  
business and 888’s backgammon offering
dividends
dividends are recognised when they become legally payable in the case of interim dividends this is when paid in the case of 
final dividends this is when approved by the shareholders at the annual general meeting
share based payments
where the company grants its employees or contractors shares or market value options the fair value at the date of grant is 
charged to the income statement over the vesting period nonmarket performance conditions are taken into account by 
adjusting the number of instruments expected to vest at each balance sheet date so that ultimately the cumulative amount 
recognised over the vesting period is based on the number of instruments that eventually vest
3 segment information
business segments 
 year ended 31 december 2007
    emerging  
  casino poker offerings consolidated 
  us’000 us’000 us’000 us’000
net gaming revenue  118120 80817 14446 213383
other operating income  2111 1452 – 3563
total operating income  120231 82269 14446 216946
result 
segment result  74061 41814 5547 121422
unallocated corporate expenses
1
     88393
operating profit     33029
finance income     4957
tax expense     3199
profit for the year – continuing operations     34787
profit for the year – discontinued operations note 23a     552
profit for the year     34235
assets
unallocated corporate assets     182181
total assets     182181
liabilities
segment liabilities – poker
2
     20013
segment liabilities – casino
2
     5533
segment liabilities – emerging offerings     868
deferred acquisition liability – emerging offerings     25145
unallocated corporate liabilities     37895
total liabilities     89454
1	 including	share	benefit	charges	of	us7800000
2	 included	in	segment	liabilities	are	amounts	owed	in	respect	of	discontinued	operations	poker	us82000	and	casino	us13000
•
•
• 888 holdings public limited company 60
3 segment information continued
 year ended 31 december 2006
   casino poker consolidated 
   us’000 us’000 us’000
net gaming revenue   88760 68240 157000
other operating income   – – –
total operating income   88760 68240 157000
result 
segment result   52101 41374 93475
unallocated corporate expenses
1
     84994
operating profit     8481
finance income     4883
tax expense     3117 
loss for the year – continuing operations     10247
profit for the year – discontinued operations note 23a     64254
profit for the year     74501
assets
unallocated corporate assets     137604
total assets     137604
liabilities
segment liabilities – poker
2
     15445
segment liabilities – casino
2
     7226
unallocated corporate liabilities     27931
total liabilities     50602
1	 including	share	benefit	charges	of	us8829000
2	 included	in	segment	liabilities	are	amounts	owed	in	respect	of	discontinued	operations	poker	us1627000	and	casino	us573000
other than where amounts are allocated specifically to the casino poker and emerging offerings segments above the 
expenses assets and liabilities relate jointly to all segments any allocation of these items would be arbitrary
geographical segments
the group’s performance can also be reviewed by considering the geographical markets and geographical locations within 
which the group operates this information is outlined below
total	operating	income	by	geographical	market
   other total total 
  net gaming operating operating operating 
  revenue income income income 
  year ended year ended year ended year ended 
  31 december 31 december 31 december 31 december 
  2007 2007 2007 2006 
  us’000 us’000 us’000 us’000
uk  91404 1597 93001 70562
europe  88445 1622 90067 57056
americas excluding usa  17684 344 18028 17601
rest of world  15850 – 15850 11781
total operating income – continuing operations  213383 3563 216946 157000
total operating income – discontinued operations note 23a   – – – 132907
total operating income  213383 3563 216946 289907
n otes to the c onsol id ated fi n anc ial s t atements 
cont inued annual report  accounts 2007 61
3 segment information continued
assets	by	geographical	location
 carrying amount of segment  additions to property 
 assets by location plant and equipment
  year ended year ended year ended year ended 
  31 december 31 december 31 december 31 december 
  2007 2006 2007 2006 
  us’000 us’000 us’000 us’000
caribbean  454 357 51 281
europe  161168 121008 2546 1832
rest of world  20559 16239 5058 6508
  182181 137604 7655 8621
4 administrative expenses
    year ended year ended 
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
share benefit charges – all equity settled    7800 8829
other administrative expenses    16860 19824
administrative expenses – continuing operations    24660 28653
administrative expenses – discontinued operations    552 7284
administrative expenses    25212 35937
5 operating profit
    year ended year ended 
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
operating profit is stated after charging
staff costs    61301 52131
audit fees    349 434
other fees paid to auditors in respect of taxation services    26 179
depreciation    4192 3801
amortisation    1550 –
chargebacks and returned echeques    2846 2507
exchange gains    1117 4742
payment service providers’ commissions    13359 9140
share benefit charges – all equity settled    7800 8829
in the income statement total staff costs excluding share benefit charge of us7800000 2006 us8829000 are included 
within the following expenditure categories
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
operating expenses    30967 23810
research and development expenses    18672 14467
administrative expenses    11662 13854
    61301 52131
at 31 december 2007 the company employed 805 2006 736 staff 888 holdings public limited company 62
6 taxation
corporate taxes
    year ended year ended 
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
current tax    3190 3302
deferred tax    9 185
taxation expense    3199 3117
analysis of current tax for the year
    year ended year ended 
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
profit before taxation    37434 77618
current tax at the effective tax rate for the year    3190 3302
deferred tax    9 185
taxation expense    3199 3117
current tax is calculated with reference to the profit of the company and its subsidiaries in their respective countries of operation
gibraltar – the company and its gibraltar registered subsidiaries are subject to the provisions of the gibraltar companies 
taxation and concessions act the “ctca” as a taxexempt company subject to a change of ownership or activity of a tax
exempt company the grandfathering of taxexempt benefits in respect of existing taxexempt companies will extend up to 
31 december 2010 domestic corporate tax in gibraltar is 33 2006 35 gibraltar’s chief minister has announced further 
reductions in anticipation of the introduction of a flat low tax rate of between 10 and 12 in 2010 a consultation is in place with 
respect to the new tax regime in gibraltar
israel – 888’s operations in israel have entered into separate transfer pricing agreements on an arm’slength basis with the israeli 
income tax commissioner the agreement in respect of random logic limited is effective until the end of 2010 the agreement 
in respect of the israeli branch of intersafe global limited was effective until the end of 2007 the group is in the process of 
discontinuing the use of this branch and so does not intend to enter into a new agreement domestic corporate tax in israel is 
29 2006 31
uk – 888’s subsidiary in the uk pays corporate tax in the uk at the applicable rate of 30 2006 30
7 earnings per share
basic earnings per share from continuing operations
basic earnings per share have been calculated by dividing the profit attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted 
average number of shares in issue during the year
diluted earnings per share
in accordance with ias 33 “earnings per share” the weighted average number of shares for diluted earnings per share takes into 
account all potentially dilutive shares and share options granted which are not included in the number of shares for basic 
earnings per share in addition certain employee options have also been excluded from the calculation of diluted eps as their 
exercise price is greater than the weighted averaged share price during the year and it would not be advantageous for the holders 
to exercise the option the number of options excluded from the diluted eps calculation is 4765036 2006 3230182 
n otes to the c onsol id ated fi n anc ial s t atements 
cont inued annual report  accounts 2007 63
7 earnings per share continued
 
    year ended year ended 
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
profit from continuing operations attributable to ordinary shareholders   34787 10247
weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue    338837328 337223724
weighted average number of dilutive ordinary shares    346069425 341834214
continuing operations
basic    103¢ 30¢
diluted    101¢ 30¢
discontinued operations note 23e
basic    02¢ 191¢
diluted    02¢ 188¢
total
basic    101¢ 221¢
diluted    99¢ 218¢
earnings per share excluding share benefit charges
reconciliation of profit to profit excluding share benefit charges
    year ended year ended 
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
profit from continuing operations attributable to ordinary shareholders   34787 10247
share benefit charges    7800 8829
profit excluding share benefit charges    42587 19076
weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue    338837328 337223724
weighted average number of dilutive ordinary shares    346069425 341834214
continuing operations
basic earnings per share excluding share benefit charges    126¢ 57¢
diluted earnings per share excluding share benefit charges    123¢ 56¢
discontinued operations note 23e
basic earnings per share excluding share benefit charges    02¢ 191¢
diluted earnings per share excluding share benefit charges    02¢ 188¢
total
basic earnings per share excluding share benefit charges    124¢ 248¢
diluted earnings per share excluding share benefit charges    121¢ 244¢
8 dividends
    year ended year ended 
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
dividends paid    36205 28658
the board of directors will recommend to the shareholders a final divided in respect of the year ended 31 december 2007 of  
5 cents 888 holdings public limited company 64
9 acquisitions made during the year 
online bingo business 
on 16 may 2007 the group acquired the assets comprising the online bingo business of globalcom limited “bingo business” 
for an all cash consideration 
in calculating the goodwill arising on acquisition the fair value of the net assets of the bingo business has been valued by a 
professional valuation firm and recognised in accordance with ifrs 3 and adjustments from book value have been made where 
necessary these adjustments are summarised as follows
   book value fair value  
   on acquisition adjustments fair value 
   us’000 us’000 us’000
property plant and equipment
1
   81 – 81
intangible assets
2
   200 4114 4314
net assets   281 4114 4395
1	 see	note	11
2		 see	note	10
the fair value relates to the recognition of customer lists us888000 royalty agreements us1113000 licensing agreements 
us2113000 and other intangible assets us200000 acquired as part of the acquisition these intangibles are being 
amortised over their estimated useful economic lives of between three months and four years all intangible assets on acquisition 
have been identified and fair valued the remaining goodwill represents the access to future trade with the bingo customers
     us’000
fair value of net assets acquired     4395
goodwill     37892
fair value of consideration including expenses     42287
which is represented by
cash consideration to globalcom limited     10723
deferred cash consideration to globalcom limited paid during the year    5398
deferred cash consideration to globalcom limited included with other payables    16095
earnout payment included with other payables
1
     9050
expenses and other costs     1021
total cash consideration     42287
1	 a	further	earnout	payment	of	us905	million	is	payable	in	cash	12	months	from	completion	on	the	basis	of	actual	performance	during	financial	year	 2007	which	was	accomplished
the revenue and operating profit generated from this acquisition in the postacquisition period to 31 december 2007 were
us144 million and us52 million respectively had the business been owned for the entire year the revenue and operating 
profit would have been us202 million and us83 million respectively
n otes to the c onsol id ated fi n anc ial s t atements 
cont inued annual report  accounts 2007 65
10 intangible assets
   other 
   intangibles goodwill total 
   us’000 us’000 us’000
cost or valuation
at 1 january 2007   – – –
acquisitions   4314 37892 42206
at 31 december 2007   4314 37892 42206
amortisation and impairment losses
at 1 january 2007   – – –
charge for the year   1550 – 1550
impairments   – – –
at 31 december 2007   1550 – 1550
carrying amounts
at 31 december 2007   2764 37892 40656
at 31 december 2006   – – –
the other intangible assets relate to the recognition of customer lists royalty agreements licensing agreements and certain 
software developed and acquired as part of the acquisition of the assets comprising the online bingo business of globalcom 
limited these intangibles are being amortised over their estimated useful economic lives of between three months and four 
years the intangible assets have been identified and valued using third party professional valuers and are based on their value 
in use to the business goodwill is associated with the cash generating online bingo business acquired during the year 
in accordance with ias 36 and ifrs 3 the group regularly monitors the carrying value of its goodwill a review was undertaken 
at 31 december 2007 to assess whether the carrying value of goodwill is supported by the net present value of future cash flows 
generated by these assets using cash flow estimates for four years
the discount rate used for purposes of the review is the company specific weighted average cost of capital percentage of 19 
in estimating the future cash flows the group has used very prudent estimates in respect of revenues generated and costs 
incurred
the result of the review undertaken at 31 december 2007 was that no impairment is required and the carrying value of the 
intangible assets is appropriate  888 holdings public limited company 66
11 property plant and equipment
  office  
  furniture and  motor leasehold 
 it equipment equipment vehicles improvements total 
 us’000 us’000 us’000 us’000 us’000
cost
at 1 january 2006 10614 2077 459 5202 18352
additions 3163 254 – 5204 8621
disposals – – 163 – 163
at 31 december 2006 13777 2331 296 10406 26810
additions 4156 105 110 3203 7574
acquisitions 81 – – – 81
disposals 1 – – – 1
at 31 december 2007 18013 2436 406 13609 34464
accumulated depreciation
at 1 january 2006 7576 618 61 1756 10011
charge for the year 2085 208 128 1380 3801
disposals – – 35 – 35
at 31 december 2006 9661 826 154 3136 13777
charge for the year 2845 230 49 1068 4192
disposals 1 – – – 1
at 31 december 2007 12505 1056 203 4204 17968
depreciated cost
at 31 december 2007 5508 1380 203 9405 16496
at 31 december 2006 4116 1505 142 7270 13033
12 financial assets
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
opening balance at the beginning of the year    – –
acquisition of available for sale assets during the year    759 –
adjustment to market price at year end    105 –
    654 –
there were no disposals or impairment provisions on available for sale financial assets
available for sale assets are quoted equity securities the fair value of which is based on their published market price 
n otes to the c onsol id ated fi n anc ial s t atements 
cont inued annual report  accounts 2007 67
13 deferred taxes
deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities 
for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes the group’s deferred tax assets resulting from 
temporary differences are as follows
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
accrued severance pay    38 141
provision for share option charge    181 176
provision for vacation    300 213
provision for convalescence    18 16
    537 546
14 cash and cash equivalents
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
cash and cash equivalents    103505 106811
restricted cash    803 7545
    104308 114356
restricted cash primarily relates to deposits held by banks for guarantees
15 trade and other receivables
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
trade receivables    13430 6189
other receivables and prepayments    6100 3480
    19530 9669
the carrying value of trade and other receivables approximates to their fair value
16 share capital
share capital comprises the following
 authorised
  31 december 31 december 31 december 31 december 
  2007 2006 2007 2006 
  number number us’000 us’000
ordinary shares of £0005 each  426387500 426387500 3880 3880
  426387500 426387500 3880 3880 888 holdings public limited company 68
16 share capital continued
 allotted called up and fully paid
  31 december 31 december 31 december 31 december 
  2007 2006 2007 2006 
  number number us’000 us’000
ordinary shares of £0005 each  337618820 337096320 3073 3068
issue of ordinary shares of £0005 each  2489215 522500 24 5
  340108035 337618820 3097 3073
on 16 april 2007 the company issued 138403 ordinary shares of £0005 each in respect of shares exercised and nil cost 
options exercised as part of the company’s employee share option plan see note 19 
on 4 may 2007 the company issued 1002169 ordinary shares of £0005 each in respect of shares exercised and nil cost 
options exercised as part of the company’s employee share option plan see note 19 
on 5 july 2007 the company issued 475941 ordinary shares of £0005 each in respect of shares exercised as part of the 
company’s employee share option plan see note 19 
on 20 september 2007 the company issued 212174 ordinary shares of £0005 each in respect of shares exercised and nil cost 
options exercised as part of the company’s employee share option plan see note 19 
on 4 october 2007 the company issued 649777 ordinary shares of £0005 each in respect of shares exercised and nil cost 
options exercised as part of the company’s employee share option plan see note 19 
on 10 october 2007 the company issued 10751 ordinary shares of £0005 each in respect of shares exercised as part of the 
company’s employee share option plan see note 19
shares issued are converted into us at the exchange rate prevailing on the date of issue the issued and fully paid share capital 
of the group amounts to us3098000 2006 us3073000 and is split into 340108035 2006 337618820 ordinary shares 
the share capital in uk sterling gbp is £1700540 2006 £1688094 and translates at an average exchange rate of us182 
2006 us182 to gbp
 
17 trade and other payables
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
trade payables    5297 3111
corporate taxes    1131 1016
other payables and accrued expenses    31467 23804
deferred acquisition liability    25145 –
    63040 27931
the carrying value of trade and other payables approximates to their fair value
n otes to the c onsol id ated fi n anc ial s t atements 
cont inued annual report  accounts 2007 69
18 investments in subsidiaries
  percentage of percentage of 
 country of equity interest equity interest  
name incorporation 2007 2006  nature of business
intersafe global limited gibraltar 100 100 payment processor
cassava enterprises limited antigua 100 100 member call centre operator
virtual services limited bvi 100 100 advertising
virtual holdings management services 
 gibraltar limited gibraltar 100 100 operates group headquarters
intersafe global europe limited gibraltar 100 100 payment processor
cassava enterprises gibraltar limited gibraltar 100 100 gaming website operator
virtual marketing services uk limited uk 100 100 advertising
cassava sports limited gibraltar 100 100 domain site owner through  
    which a third party operates a  
    betting exchange
active media limited bvi 100 100 member call centre employer
virtual marketing services gibraltar limited gibraltar 100 100 marketing acquisition
dixie operation limited antigua 100 100 member call centre operator
random logic limited israel 100 100 research development  
    and marketing
brigend limited gibraltar 100 – bingo business operator 
actecash limited
1
 gibraltar – – ewallet service
1		 on	20	december	2005	the	group	took	responsibility	for	the	management	of	actecash	limited	a	company	with	common	shareholders	from	this	date	 actecash	was	managed	as	a	unit	of	the	group	and	utilised	staff	employed	by	the	group	in	accordance	with	ias	27	“consolidated	and	separate	 financial	statements”	the	group	is	deemed	to	have	control	of	actecash	by	virtue	of	the	fact	it	has	the	power	to	govern	the	financial	and	operating	 policies	of	this	company	and	derives	economic	benefit	from	doing	so	as	such	actecash	has	been	consolidated	as	part	of	the	group
19 sharebased payment
prior to flotation the company adopted two equitysettled employee share incentive plans – the 888 allemployee share plan 
and the long term incentive plan awards have been granted under the 888 allemployee share plan conditional upon flotation 
the 888 allemployee share plan is open to all employees and executive directors of the group who are not within six months of 
their normal retirement age at the discretion of the remuneration committee awards under this scheme will vest in instalments 
over a fixed period of up to four years
the company grants awards to certain executive directors and members of its senior management these awards are subject to 
performance conditions imposed by the remuneration committee at the dates of grant 
details of shares and share options granted as part of the 888 allemployee share plan and shares granted vesting immediately 
on ipo and thereafter
share options granted
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    number number
outstanding at the beginning of the year    4204919 3578287
market value options granted during the year    2004880 2224131
market value options lapsed during the year    1121352 1597499
outstanding at the end of the year
12
    5088447 4204919
weighted average exercise price for options outstanding at the end of the year   £149 £167
weighted average exercise price for options lapsed during the year   £164 £172
1	 of	the	total	number	of	options	outstanding	at	the	end	of	the	year	1321145	had	vested	and	were	exercisable	at	the	end	of	the	year	2006	784491	 2	 range	of	exercise	price	for	options	outstanding	at	the	end	of	the	year	is	£114–£180	2006	£144–£180 888 holdings public limited company 70
19 sharebased payment continued
shares granted
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    number number
outstanding at the beginning of the year    8316639 5247214
shares granted – future vesting    5218255 5595219
lapsed future vesting shares    1243019 2003294
shares issued during the year    2489215 522500
outstanding at the end of the year    9802660 8316639
the following information is relevant in the determination of the fair value of options granted during the year under the equity
settled the 888 allemployee share plan
valuation information
    2007 2006
option pricing model used    monte carlo monte carlo
weighted average share price at grant date    £118 £161
weighted exercise price    £119 £167
risk free interest rate range    482–540 430–470
expected volatility of the price of the underlying share    37–78 53–67
exercise period of the market value options is from vesting until expiry of 10 years after grant date
monte carlo model is taking into account all the minimum requirements set by ifrs 2 such as the exercise price of the option 
the current price of the underlying share the expected volatility of the price of the underlying share the expected dividend on the 
underlying share the expected term of the option both contractual term and employees’ expected behaviour and the riskfree 
interest rate for the expected term of the option
in accordance with international financial reporting standards a charge to the income statement in respect of any shares or 
options granted under the above schemes will be recognised and spread over the vesting period of the shares or options based 
on the fair value of the shares or options at the date at grant adjusted for changes in vesting conditions at each balance sheet 
date this charge has no cash impact
share benefit charges
    year ended year ended 
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
charges in respect of share and option awards granted this year    1756 2527
charges in respect of share and option awards granted in previous years   6044 6302
charge for the year    7800 8829
20 related party transactions
during the year the group paid us290401 2006 us212464 in respect of rent and office expenses to companies of which 
mr john anderson is a director at 31 december 2007 the amount owed to those companies was usnil 2006 usnil
remuneration paid to the directors in the year totalled us4328000 2006 us9258000
share benefit charge in respect of awards granted to the directors totalled us3163000 2006 us4544000
n otes to the c onsol id ated fi n anc ial s t atements 
cont inued annual report  accounts 2007 71
21 commitments
lease commitments
future minimum lease commitments under property operating leases for the year ended 31 december 2007 are as follows
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
leases expiring within
one year    2278 3060
two to five years    7533 8204
    9811 11264
the amount paid in the year was us2745000 2006 us2620000
lease commitments on the group’s property are shown to the date of the first break clause
22 financial risk management 
the group is exposed through its operations to risks that arise from use of its financial instruments policies and procedures for 
managing these risks are set by the board following recommendations from the chief financial officer the board reviews the 
effectiveness of these procedures and if required approves specific policies and procedures in order to mitigate these risks 
the main financial instruments used by the group on which financial risk arise are as follows
cash and cash equivalents
restricted cash
trade and other receivables
available for sale financial assets
trade and other payables
member deposits
detailed analysis of these financial instruments is as follows
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
financial assets    us’000 us’000
trade receivables    13430 6189
other receivables    6100 3480
cash and cash equivalents    103505 106811
restricted cash    803 7545
available for sale financial asset    654 –
    124492 124025
in accordance with ifrs 7 with the exception of available for sale assets all financial assets are classified as loans and 
receivables
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
financial liabilities    us’000 us’000
trade payables    5297 3111
other payables and accrued expenses    31467 23804
deferred acquisition liability    25145 –
member deposits    26414 22671
    88323 49586
in accordance with ifrs 7 all financial liabilities are held at amortised cost
at 31 december 2007 and 2006 the fair value and the book value of the group’s financial assets and liabilities were materially the 
same
•
•
•
•
•
• 888 holdings public limited company 72
22 financial risk management continued
capital
the capital employed by the group is comprised of equity attributable to shareholders the primary objective of the group is 
maximising shareholders’ value which from the capital perspective is achieved by maintaining the capital structure most suited 
to the group’s size strategy and underlying business risk other than disclosed elsewhere in note 22 there are no demands or 
restrictions on the group’s capital
the main financial risk areas are as follows
credit risk
trade receivables
the group’s credit risk is primarily attributable to trade receivables who are the group’s payment service providers “psp”  
these are third party companies that facilitate deposits and withdrawal of funds to and from the members’ virtual wallet with the 
group these are mainly intermediaries that transact on behalf of the main credit card companies
the risk is that a psp would fail to discharge its obligation with regard to the balance owed to the group
the group reduces this credit risk by
monitoring those balances on a regular basis
arranging for the shortest possible cash settlements intervals
replacing rolling reserve requirements where they exist with a letter of credit by a reputable financial institution
ensuring a new psp is contracted following various due diligence and ”know your customer” procedures and
ensuring policies are in place to reduce dependency on specific psps
the group believes that based on the above and on extensive past experience it is not required to provide for any potential bad 
debts arising from a psp failing to discharge its obligation
none of the balances owed by the various psps are overdue or impaired
an additional credit risk the group faces relates to members disputing charges made to their credit cards “chargebacks” or any 
other funding method they have used in respect of the services provided by the group members may fail to fulfil their obligation 
to pay which will result in funds not being collected these chargebacks and uncollected deposits or returned echeques when 
occurring will be deducted at source by the psps from any amount due to the group as such the group provides for these 
eventualities by way of a provision based on analysis of past transactions and estimated trends this provision is netted off from 
the trade receivables balance and at 31 december 2007 was us845000 2006 us500000
the group’s inhouse fraud and risk management department carefully monitors deposits and withdrawals by following 
prevention and verification procedures using internally developed bespoke systems integrated with commercially available third 
party measures
cash and cash equivalents
the group controls its cash position out of its gibraltar headquarters subsidiaries in its other locations israel antigua and 
london maintain minimum cash balances which are deemed required for their operations
cash settlement proceeds from psps as described above are paid into bank accounts controlled by the finance  
function in gibraltar
the group segregates funds due to members and holds these funds in separate bank accounts these funds are not used to 
fund activity other than that directly related to members
the group maintains its funds with highly reputable financial institutions and will not hold funds with financial institutions with a 
credit rating lower than a based on standard  poor’s rating
the group maintains its cash reserve in highly liquid deposits and regularly monitors rates in order to maximise yield
restricted cash
the group may be required to deposit cash collateral to secure a letter of credit that substitutes reserves required to be held by a 
psp such deposit will be with a reputable financial institution instead of with the individual psp this decreases the cash balance 
with the psp and therefore exposure as at 31 december 2006 most of the restricted cash was of this nature during the year 
2007 the group was able to substantially reduce those requirements and as at 31 december 2007 restricted cash is mainly 
attributed to a deposit in respect of the group’s obligation with the developer of the offices of its subsidiary in israel
•
•
•
•
•
n otes to the c onsol id ated fi n anc ial s t atements 
cont inued annual report  accounts 2007 73
22 financial risk management continued
the group’s maximum exposure to credit risk by type of financial instrument is summarised below
  
   31 december 2007     31 december 2006
  carrying maximum carrying maximum 
  value exposure value exposure 
  us’000 us’000 us’000 us’000
trade receivables  13430 13430 6189 6189
other receivables  6100 6100 3480 3480
cash and cash equivalents  103505 103505 106811 106811
restricted cash  803 803 7545 7545
available for sale financial asset  654 654 – –
  124492 124492 124025 124025
liquidity risk
liquidity risk exists in the case where the group will encounter difficulties in meeting its financial obligations as they become due
the group monitors its liquidity in order to ensure that sufficient liquid resources are available to allow it to meet its obligations
in the case of the group’s liability to its members the group maintains these deposits in separate bank accounts which are not 
used for its day to day operations
as at 31 december 2007 the group had a deferred acquisition liability of us25145000 in respect of the acquisition of the 
online bingo business of globalcom limited the group maintains sufficient funds to meet this liability which is due between 
april and may 2008 in addition the group has assured that cash earmarked to fund its final dividend payment for 2007 is in 
place
the group expects to have sufficient liquidity to meet all of its financial obligations under all reasonably expected circumstances 
and will not need to resort to any debt borrowing
the following table details the contractual maturity analysis of the group’s financial liabilities
   31 december 2007
   deferred  
 trade other  acquisition member  
 payables payables
1
 liability deposits total 
 us’000 us’000 us’000 us’000 us’000
on demand 1047 5612 – 26414 33073
in three months 3669 23562 – – 27231
between three months and one year 581 1835 25145 – 27561
more than one year – 458 – – 458
 5297 31467 25145 26414 88323
1	 includes	other	payables	accrued	expenses	and	provisions
   
   31 december 2006
   deferred  
 trade other  acquisition member  
 payables payables
1
 liability deposits total 
 us’000 us’000 us’000 us’000 us’000
on demand 390 6647 – 22671 29708
in three months 2148 12919 – – 15067
between three months and one year 573 3174 – – 3747
more than one year – 1064 – – 1064
 3111 23804 – 22671 49586
1	 includes	other	payables	accrued	expenses	and	provisions 888 holdings public limited company 74
22 financial risk management continued
market risk
interest	rate	risk
the group’s exposure to interest rate risk is limited to the interest bearing deposits in which the group invests surplus funds
the group’s policy is to invest surplus funds in low risk money market funds or on call over night facilities the group also 
arranged with its principal bankers that excess funds are swept automatically across its accounts every night in order to 
maximise availability of funds for investments
downside interest rate risk is minimal as the group has no borrowings a 05 movement in bank interest rates would not have  
a significant impact on finance income for the year or the prior year
currency	risk
the group’s overall financial risk arising from exchange rate fluctuations is a result of a mismatch between receipts which are 
denominated is us and expenses part of which are denominated in foreign currencies of which to be noted are the british 
pound sterling gbp the euro eur and the new israeli shekel ils the group continually monitors the foreign currency risk 
and takes steps to ensure that the net exposure is kept to an acceptable level inter alia by using foreign exchange forward 
contracts designed to fix the economic impact of known liabilities at 31 december 2007 and 31 december 2006 there were  
no outstanding forward contracts there were no significant fair value movements on these contracts during the year
the group further mitigates that risk by way of natural hedging whereby a certain portion of funds collected from the psp are 
settled in either gbp or eur in order to fund its expenses denominated in these currencies
n otes to the c onsol id ated fi n anc ial s t atements 
cont inued annual report  accounts 2007 75
23 discontinued operations
as a result of the matters fully described in note 24 the group incurred legal expenses in assessing the extent of any contingent 
liability if any
a consolidated income statement
    year ended year ended 
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
net gaming revenue    – 132907
operating expenses    – 28086
research and development expenses    – –
selling and marketing expenses    – 33283
administrative expenses    552 7284
 operating lossprofit before reorganisation costs    552 68287
 charges in respect of reorganisation costs    – 4033
operating lossprofit    552 64254
finance income    – –
lossprofit from discontinued operations    552 64254
b segment information
business	segments
 year ended 31 december 2007
   casino poker consolidated 
   us’000 us’000 us’000
net gaming revenue   – – –
result 
segment result   – – –
unallocated corporate expenses     552
operating loss     552
net loss for the year   – – 552
 year ended 31 december 2006
   casino poker consolidated 
   us’000 us’000 us’000
net gaming revenue   71972 60935 132907
result 
segment result   40186 37678 77864
unallocated corporate expenses     13610
operating profit     64254
net profit for the year     64254
other than where amounts are allocated specifically to the casino and poker segments above the expenses relate jointly to both 
segments any allocation of these items would be arbitrary 888 holdings public limited company 76
23 discontinued operations continued
geographical	segments
net gaming revenue by geographical market
    year ended year ended 
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
usa    – 132907
    – 132907
c profit from discontinued operations
    year ended year ended 
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
profit from discontinued operations is stated after charging 
staff costs    – 6638
chargebacks and returned echeques    – 15465
payment service providers’ commissions    – 5821
in note 23c total staff costs are included within the following expenditure categories
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
operating expenses    – 5842
administrative expenses    – 796
    – 6638
d cash flows from discontinued operations
    year ended year ended 
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
net cash usedgenerated in operating activities    552 53506
net cash generated from investing activities    – 2244
net cash used in financing activities    – 14951
net increase in cash and cash equivalents    552 40799
e earnings per share 
    year ended year ended 
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
loss profit from discontinued operations attributable to ordinary shareholders   552 64254
weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue    338873328 337223724
weighted average number of dilutive ordinary shares    346069425 341834214
basic losses earnings per share    02¢ 191¢
diluted losses earnings per share    02¢ 188¢
n otes to the c onsol id ated fi n anc ial s t atements 
cont inued annual report  accounts 2007 77
24 contingent liabilities
from time to time the group is subject to legal claims and actions against it the group takes legal advice as to the likelihood of 
success of such claims and actions 
regulatory issues 
as part of the board’s ongoing regulatory compliance and operational risk assessment process the board continues to monitor 
legal and regulatory developments and their potential impact on the business and continues to take appropriate advice in 
respect of these developments 
following the enactment of the uigea on 13 october 2006 the group stopped taking any deposits from customers in the us 
and barred such customers from wagering realmoney on all of the group’s sites
notwithstanding this there remains a residual risk of an adverse impact arising from the group having had customers in the us 
prior to the enactment of the uigea the board is not able to identify reliably at this stage what if any liability may arise and 
accordingly no provision has been made
on 5 june 2007 the group announced that it has initiated preliminary discussions with the united states attorney’s office for the 
southern district of new york it is too early to assess any particular outcome of these discussions 888 holdings public limited company 78
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
   note us’000 us’000
assets
noncurrent assets
investments in subsidiaries   2 2262 2143
financial assets   6 654 –
current assets    2916 2143
trade and other receivables   3 83645 49300
cash and cash equivalents   4 87120 99807
    170765 149107
total assets    173681 151250
equity and liabilities
equity 
share capital   5 3097 3073
available for sale reserve    105
retained earnings    19591 16863
total equity attributable to equity holders of the parent    22583 19936
liabilities
current liabilities
trade and other payables   7 151098 131314
total liabilities    151098 131314
total equity and liabilities    173681 151250
the financial statements on pages 78 to 82 were approved and authorised for issue by the board of directors on 8 april 2008 
and were signed on its behalf by
gigi levy aviad kobrine
chief executive officer chief financial officer
the notes on pages 81 to 82 form part of these financial statements
c omp any ba l ance s heet at 31 d ecember 2007 annual report  accounts 2007 79
   available for retained 
  share capital sale reserve earnings total 
  us’000 us’000 us’000 us’000
balance at 1 january 2006  3068 – 24047 27115
net profit for the year  – – 12650 12650
dividend paid  – – 28658 28658
issue of shares  5 – 5 –
share benefit charges  – – 8829 8829
balance at 1 january 2007  3073 – 16863 19936
net profit for the year  – – 31157 31157
dividend paid  – – 36205 36205
issue of shares  24 – 24 –
share benefit charges  – – 7800 7800
valuation losses of available for sale investments  – 105 – 105
balance at 31 december 2007  3097 105 19591 22583
the notes on pages 81 to 82 form part of these financial statements
c omp any s t atement of c h anges in e qu ity for the ye ar ended 31 d ecember 2007 888 holdings public limited company 80
  year ended year ended year ended year ended 
  31 december 31 december 31 december 31 december 
  2007 2007 2006 2006 
  us’000 us’000 us’000 us’000
cash flows from operating activities
 loss before income tax  4966  15916 
adjustments for
 interest received  5091  4540 
 share benefit charges  7800  8829
 increase in amounts owed by subsidiaries  34017  8386
 increase in other accounts receivables  328  448
 decreaseincrease in trade payables  499  110
 increase in amounts owed to subsidiaries  21977  78496
 decreaseincrease in other accounts payables  1672  609
cash used generated from operations   16796  58754
tax paid   104  5
net cash generated from operating activities   16900  58749
cash flows from investing activities
 increase in investments in subsidiaries  119  13
 interest received  5091  4540
 acquisition of available for sale assets  759  –
 dividends received  36205  28658
net cash used in investing activities   40418  33185
cash flows from financing activities
 dividends paid  36205  28658
net cash used in financing activities   36205  28658
net decrease increase in cash and cash equivalents   12687  63276
cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year   99807  36531
cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year   87120  99807
the notes on pages 81 to 82 form part of these financial statements
c omp any s t atement of ca sh f lows for the ye ar ended 31 d ecember 2007 annual report  accounts 2007 81
1 general information and accounting policies
a description of the company its activities and definitions are included in note 1 to the consolidated financial statements
the company has applied accounting policies identical to the group’s accounting policies listed in note 2 to the consolidated 
financial statements other than in relation to investments in its subsidiaries which are held at cost less any impairment provision 
required
under section 102 of the gibraltar consolidated accounts act 1999 the company is exempt from the requirement to present 
its own income statement
2 investments in subsidiaries
the company’s subsidiaries are listed in note 18 to the consolidated financial statements and are held at cost less provision for 
any impairment
3 trade and other receivables
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
amounts due from subsidiaries    82492 48475
other receivables and prepayments    1153 825
    83645 49300
4 cash and cash equivalents
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
cash and cash equivalents    86904 97827
restricted cash    216 1980
    87120 99807
restricted cash primarily relates to deposits held by banks for guarantees
5 share capital
the disclosures in note 16 to the consolidated financial statements are identical for the company
n otes to the c omp any fi n anc ial s t atements 888 holdings public limited company 82
6 financial assets
the disclosures in note 12 to the consolidated financial statements are identical for the company
7 trade and other payables
    31 december 31 december 
    2007 2006 
    us’000 us’000
trade payables    166 665
amounts due to subsidiaries    147399 125422
corporate tax    65 87
other payables and accrued expenses    3468 5140
    151098 131314
the carrying value of trade and other payables approximates to their fair value
8 financial risk management
the company’s financial risk management objectives and policies are identical to those of the group as disclosed in note 22 to 
the consolidated financial statements
9 contingent liabilities
the disclosures in note 24 to the consolidated financial statements are identical for the company
10 share based payment
the disclosures in note 19 to the consolidated financial statements are identical for the company
11 related party transactions
during the year the company received dividends from its subsidiaries totaling us36205000 2006 us28658000 and paid 
to its shareholders dividends totalling us36205000 2006 us28658000
remuneration paid to directors of the company by its subsidiaries in the year totalled us427000 2006 us929000
share benefit charges in respect of options and shares of the company awarded to employees of subsidiaries totalled 
us174000 2006 us4136000
during the year subsidiaries of the company participated in funding its costs which totalled us5690000 2006 
us20712000
at 31 december 2007 the company owed to its subsidiaries us64907000 2006 us76947000
n otes to the c omp any fi n anc ial s t atements 
cont inued annual report  accounts 2007 83
group websites
a range of shareholder information is available in the investor 
relations area of the group’s website www888holdingsplc
com including
latest information on the group’s share price
information on the group’s financial performance 
news and events
the following websites can be also accessed through the 
group’s main web portal www888com or are available 
directly
casino
888’s casino games are offered through its casinoonnet 
and reef club casino offerings
wwwcasinoonnetcom
wwwreefclubcasinocom
poker
888’s poker offering is through pacific poker
wwwpacificpokercom
bingo
888’s bingo offering is through 888ladies
www888ladiescom 
888it
the group’s sports offering for the italian market 
www888it
backgammon
888’s backgammon offering is through 888backgammon 
www888combackgammon 
betmate
offers access to a betting exchange for nonusa members 
only including sporting and nonsporting betting
wwwbetmatecom 
888tv
a portal for skill games allowing members to download games 
open accounts and play tournaments
www888tv
888info
allows members to practice their gaming skills for fun through 
a number of key casino and poker games 
www888info
888responsible
the group’s dedicated site focusing on responsible gaming 
www888responsiblecom
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
shareholder services
all enquiries relating to ordinary shares depository interests 
dividends and changes of address should be directed to the 
group’s transfer agent
capita registrars
the registry
34 beckenham road
beckenham
kent
br3 4tu 
tel 0870 162 3100
wwwcapitaregistrarscom
further information
for further information please contact
company secretary
888 holdings public limited company
suite 601701
europort
europort road
gibraltar
info888holdingsplccom
principal bankers
the royal bank of scotland plc
280 bishopsgate
london
ec2m 4rb
solicitors
freshfields bruckhaus deringer
65 fleet street
london
ec4y 1hs
hassans
5763 line wall road
gibraltar
auditors
bdo stoy hayward llp
chartered accountants 
55 baker street
london
w1u 7eu
bdo orion limited
registered auditors
montagu pavilion
810 queensway
gibraltar
incorporated in gibraltar with registered number 90099
sh areholder inform at ion 888 holdings public limited company 84
n otes h ig h l ig h t s
2 0 07
ngr
1 2
36

2007 us213 million
2006 us157 million
up
casino ngr
1 2
33

2007 us118 million
2006 us89 million
up
poker ngr
1 2
18

2007 us81 million
2006 us68 million
up
	 ifc	 highlights
	 2	 888 	 brands
	 4	 chairman’s 	 statement
	 6	 chief 	 executive	 officer’s	 review
	 10	 enhanced 	 business	 review
	 31	 risk 	 report
	32	 board 	 of	 directors
	33	 corporate 	 governance
	37	 remuneration 	 report
	45	 directors’ 	 report
	48	 independent 	 auditors’	 report
	50	 consolidated 	 income	 statement
	 51	 consolidated 	 balance	 sheet
	52	 	consolidated	 statement	 of	 changes	 	 in	 equity
	53	 consolidated 	 statement	 of	 cash	 flows
	54	 	notes	 to	 the	 consolidated	 	 financial	 statements
	78	 company 	 balance	 sheet
	79	 	company	 statement	 of	 changes	 in	 equity
	80	 company 	 statement	 of	 cash	 flows
	 81	 	notes	 to	 the	 company	 	 financial	 statements
	83 	 	 shareholder 	 information
ebitda
3 4
177

2007 us45 million
2006 us16 million
up
profit before tax
2 3
106

2007 us46 million
2006 us22 million
up
1	net 	 gaming	 revenue	 “ngr”
2 	 c o n t i n u i n g 	 o p e r a t i o n s 	 r e l a t e s 	 t o 	 a l l 	 n o n  u s 	 f a c i n g 	 o p e r a t i o n s 	  s e e 	 n o t e 	 2 	 t o 	 t h e 	 fi n a n c i a l 	 s t a t e m e n t s  
3 	 e x c l u d i n g 	 s h a r e 	 b e n e fi t 	 c h a r g e s 	 o f 	 u s  7  8 	 m i l l i o n 	  2 0 0 6  	 u s  8  8 	 m i l l i o n  
4 	 	 e x c l u d i n g 	 e x c h a n g e 	 g a i n 	 o f 	 u s  1  1 	 m i l l i o n 	  2 0 0 6  	 u s  4  7 	 m i l l i o n  
	 contents 888 holdings public limited company  annual   report    accounts  2007


Summary:
 888 holdings public limited company  c h i e f e x e c u t i v e 
of f i c e r’ s r e v i e w
2 0 07
our success in 2007 was based on a clear 
strategy and business focus coupled with 
great execution
 	 e x c l u d i n g 	 s h a r e 	 b e n e fi t 	 c h a r g e s 	 o f 	 u s  7  8 	 m i l l i o n 	  2 0 0 6  	 u s  8  8 	 m i l l i o n   	 c o n t i n u i n g 	 o p e r a t i o n s 
2007 was a year of transformation for 
888 in which we had to restructure the 
business following the enactment in the 
united states of the unlawful internet 
gaming enforcement act “uigea” in 
october 2006 which resulted in us losing 
55 of our revenues almost overnight 
i am very pleased to report that we  
have now successfully completed the 
restructuring and repositioning of the 
business and have delivered very strong 
results for the year both in terms of 
revenue and profit we have emerged a 
better company clearer in our strategy 
more diverse and complete in our 
offering with a stronger presence in  
more markets and much greater local 
“incountry” focus we have also 
restructured our senior operational 
management team with a mix of 
experienced managers from within the 
group and seasoned executives recruited 
from other industries enabling us to 
innovate where the industry has been 
slow to change in recent years 
the financial results speak for 
themselves the 106 profit before tax 
growth to us46 million and 38 total 
operating income growth to 
us217 million demonstrate the resilience 
of our business the strength of our team  
and the continued attractiveness of our 
business model with basic earnings per 
share of 126 cents and strong 2007 we 
have fully recovered from the effects of 
uigea with various strategic initiatives 
now under way we see a bright future for 
the business 
gigi levy 
chief executive officer
these are excellent results and given  
our strong financial performance we  
will be paying a final dividend of 50 cents 
per share in addition to the interim 
dividend of 18 cents per share paid in 
october 2007
delivering on our strategy 
our success in 2007 was based on a 
clear strategy and business focus 
coupled with great execution our 
strategy was founded on the same 
principles that had made us successful in 
previous years but building on these core 
principles in order to incorporate several 
new directions allowing us to accelerate 
growth we continued focusing on 
acquiring and retaining valuable 
customers by delivering a compelling 
localised innovative unique and 
entertaining customer experience while 
embarking on new initiatives these 
initiatives included strategic partnerships 
the use of new and innovative marketing 
channels the integration of third party 
games the introduction of enhanced 
communication and entertainment 
features and a revolutionary gaming 
environment in which customers can 
access all games from a single location 
2007 was a phenomenal year in terms of 
the development of our offering we 
introduced an “industry first” with our first 
fullyintegrated gaming environment 
which allows access to all of our games 
from one location this approach clearly 
enhanced revenues from customers who 
were able for the first time to play any 
game they wanted without limitation and 
enabled us to better crosssell and up annual report  accounts 2007  sell to our customers the success of  
this approach is now proven and we  
will continue to provide an integrated 
environment to more customers and add 
more games into this environment 
another significant development effort 
centred on opening our platform to easy 
integration with games from other 
providers whilst we will continue 
developing our own core games and 
technological infrastructure we will 
carefully select “bestofbreed” partners 
to provide us with additional games 
particularly those with a local flavour 
which will assist us in penetrating local 
markets the first of these games is being 
introduced and we plan to leverage this 
infrastructure investment and integrate 
various additional games in the coming 
years with a number already in the 
pipeline for 2008 this capability will 
enable us to leverage the internet’s “long 
tail” phenomena as we have no “real 
estate” costs in putting more games into 
our software client the introduction of 
additional games even if they will only  
be played by a small percentage of our 
customers will have a positive return  
on investment 
one of the key focuses of our 
development effort was the integration of 
a sport betting platform into our offering 
this process was successfully completed 
towards the end of the year and the 
service was recently launched we have 
also introduced a livedealer solution with 
our asian partner entertasia which will 
increase our presence in the asian 
market early 2008 saw the introduction 
of 888ladies which is positioned to 
appeal to a whole new market for the 
group with these new products we now 
have a strong and complete portfolio 
with our business based on the four core 
pillars of casino poker sportsbetting 
and bingo together with supplementary 
backgammon and livedealer products 
during the year we managed to upgrade 
and improve all of our existing platforms 
introducing new casino and poker 
versions with additional games innovative 
features and a better overall interactive 
customer experience one such 
enhancement was the introduction of our 
firstever branded game – the “blond 
legend” video slot which was an 
immediate success and another was our 
innovative poker client allowing users to 
choose a 3d or 2d view with a rotating 
table and various additional features 
finally given the focus on geographic 
expansion we succeeded in completing 
the translation and localisation of all our 
casino games into the 14 languages we 
currently support on top of expanding our 
language proposition with two brand new 
languages this major effort resulted in 
an immediate increase in revenues in 
markets which previously were not 
supported by a fully localised product 
as in previous years we were proud  
to see our innovative marketleading 
offering being selected for various 
awards including the prestigious c a s i n o	
o f 	 th e 	 y e a r award both in the egaming 
and the online gambling awards 
from a marketing perspective 2007 was 
focused on additional brand building 
innovative marketing tools loyalty 
increasing programmes and a significant 
drive on local and integrated marketing 
efforts overall we had a very good year 
in which we managed to grow our 
business whilst keeping marketing spend 
at 33 of ngr
in terms of brand building we have 
invested in relaunching the 888 brand in 
conjunction with our “enjoy the game” 
tagline across all media channels and 
markets this new campaign delivered 
our best ever brand awareness as 
reflected in surveys conducted in the  
uk and spain this campaign was a 
milestone in our brand building efforts
for the first time ever in 2007 we invested 
in web 20 marketing channels including 
viral campaigns based on a combination 
of professionally crafted and user 
generated content we have also 
integrated various additional innovative 
online marketing tools in various areas 
especially in the search engine domain 
which allowed us to keep our marketing 
costs within the challenging budget that 
had been set
customer relationship management 
“crm” has always been one of our core 
competencies with our industry leading 
service levels and the personal service 
we are known to provide to our 
customers 2007 saw further 
enhancements with the publication of the 
first two issues of our premium customer 
magazine “eight” our improved loyalty 
programme and implementation of 
improved communication and 
promotional tools coupled with our 
worldfamous vip programme our crm 
approach has ensured a very successful 
2007 in terms of customers’ lifetime value 
and loyalty 
our marketing success in 2007 relied fully 
on a localised and integrated approach 
we implemented better coordination 
across the group and comprehensive 
monitoring of our activities in every 
market we signed more local tv deals 
across europe and benefited from 
extensive international coverage of our 
successful sponsorships of the world 
snooker championship and sevilla 
football club the outcome of these 
localisation efforts is apparent in our 
numbers which show far better 
geographical diversification with our 
european market increasing to 42 of 
our business in 2007 compared to 36 
in 2006 we are most satisfied with our 
growth across various markets and will 
continue investing in localised integrated 
marketing efforts in 2008 as we continue 
to penetrate yet more new markets  888 holdings public limited company  the most significant strategic move in  
the year was our decision to expand  
our pure businesstoconsumer business 
model with a combined approach  
which includes working with carefully 
selected strategic businesstobusiness 
partners under the “powered by 888” 
endorsement we have launched a new 
line of business as a service provider to 
virtual operators we launched three new 
partnerships in 2007 with rileys in the 
uk tower torneos in latin america and 
luckyace in europe more such 
partnerships will follow with several 
already in the pipeline
this new area of our business received a 
significant boost with our acquisition of 
the bingo assets of globalcom in may 
2007 this transaction positioned 888 at 
the forefront of online bingo service 
providers serving leading business 
partners such as cashcade operating 
foxy bingo bingo scotland and a 
number of other wellknown brands we 
have already secured additional bingo 
deals including with winkbingo a newly 
launched bingo network
while the core of our business remains in 
the businesstoconsumer area this new 
approach enables us to better leverage 
our investments and generate additional 
revenues and profit streams from market 
segments where penetration would 
require significant additional effort and 
marketing spend this activity has already 
contributed to our bottom line in 2007 
and is expected to grow in importance in 
the coming years as we announce new 
deals our success resulted in the best 
l a n d  l i n k s 	 p a r tn e r s h i p award in the 
egaming awards is a clear indication of 
the innovative nature of our approach in 
this area
during 2007 we successfully integrated 
our acquired bingo assets which now 
work as a seamless part of our business 
on top of this successful integration we 
have managed to accelerate the growth 
of the bingo business which grew 
phenomenally throughout the year this 
now proven ability to acquire value
enhancing assets and integrate them into 
our business underlines the validity of our 
ma approach and therefore we will 
continue to look for the right opportunities 
to supplement our strong organic growth 
in addition to our strong financial  
results our overall performance was 
acknowledged in our securing for the 
first time the best betting and gambling 
c o m p a n y award in the 2007 leisure 
report awards 
finally we continue to be indebted to our 
fantastic team of employees who have 
succeeded in delivering the outstanding 
2007 results we have a phenomenal 
team at all levels with extremely talented 
individuals who are led by a worldclass 
management team to maintain this team 
and ensure their ongoing motivation we 
continue to strive to be the employer of 
choice these efforts have resulted in 
successful new recruits into the group 
our employees will remain a key part of 
our focus in the years to come 
regulation
while the regulatory landscape remains 
unstable in some regions 2007 saw 
some positive developments in europe 
the european court of justice’s ruling  
in the placanica case restated the 
importance of eu regulations to our 
industry this decision together with the 
recent infringement actions and position 
letters from the european commission 
marks a very positive development 
enabling eu licensed operators such as 
888 to provide their services throughout 
the european union moreover we have 
seen a trend throughout the year of 
additional european jurisdictions 
embarking on a path to license and 
regulate online gaming a route which  
we clearly welcome 
outside of europe we have seen initial 
signs of positive regulation both in asia
pacific and latin america where newly 
introduced regulations in some 
jurisdictions could allow us to benefit from 
working in a locally licensed environment 
as previously stated we see these to be 
very positive developments as we 
continue to pursue a clear regulatory 
framework for all jurisdictions in which  
we operate we will continue to monitor 
the regulatory landscape and to look  
for opportunities to operate in  
regulated markets
as stated in our announcement dated 
5 june 2007 we have initiated preliminary 
discussions with the united states 
attorney’s office for the southern district 
of new york relating to our activity in  
the us prior to the signing of the uigea 
it is too early to assess any particular 
outcome of these discussions
responsible gaming
2007 was also a turning point in our 
approach to responsible gaming  
whilst 888 has always been a leader  
in supporting the prevention of problem 
and underage gambling we recruited  
a dedicated executive to handle these 
important issues we have as a result 
introduced both enhanced tools and 
policies giving us an even tighter control 
on problem and underage gamblers 
these efforts were acknowledged  
by gamcare who awarded us their 
responsible gambling certificate 
recently our educational efforts 
developed even further with the 
introduction of www888responsible
com a website dedicated for providing 
access to tools which identify and deal 
with problem gambling this industryfirst 
educational effort and our additional 
activities in the area mark our continued 
commitment to prevent problem and 
underage gambling
our 2008 focus
2008 will see the continued execution of 
our strategy with accelerated innovation 
facilitated by the investment made in our 
infrastructure in 2007 now that we have 
delivered all of the required products 
chief executive’s review cont
best operator of the year – 2007 annual report  accounts 2007  developed integration capabilities and 
white labelling capability together with  
a far deeper localised offering we  
can focus on the monetisation of  
these assets 
in terms of our offering our plans include 
the introduction of several new games 
with a strong focus on localised games 
which will continue to support our push 
into new markets we will continue  
to develop our relationships with third 
party games providers to ensure that  
we will not miss any exciting potential 
“hit” games we will also introduce 
various new innovative features such as 
increased personalisation tournaments 
around casino games and more  
content and entertainment across  
our product portfolio
from a marketing perspective 2008 will 
see further investment in our brand and 
the use of additional innovative marketing 
channels we will also introduce some 
major events such as the recently 
launched us3 million world poker 
crown poker tournament and a major 
event planned for 8 august 2008 – the 
“888” date 
on the businesstobusiness front we 
aim to sign and launch more strategic 
partnership deals as a means to 
accelerate our growth 
outlook
2008 has started well especially with  
our recently introduced femaleoriented 
bingo proposition 888ladies this 
innovative website which already boasts 
thousands of active customers daily is 
performing above our expectations 
the recent launch of our sportsbetting 
proposition 888sport is already 
generating revenues and coupled  
with several more planned product 
launches we expect our offering to 
continue being one of the main  
growth drivers of our business
with our current strategic partnerships 
performing well we are progressing with 
additional potential partners and we 
expect at least one new partnership to  
be launched in 2008 
given the positive start to 2008 the 
successful launch of 888ladies and 
888sport our strategic partnership deals 
current trading and our clear business 
strategy and focus we are confident in 
delivering future growth during 2008
gigi levy
chief executive officer