Despite problem gambling fine, 888 shares surge

Today’s news that online gambling group 888 Holdings plc has been fined GBP 7.8 million for flaws in its responsible gambling and self-excluding systems (see earlier  report) have counter-intuitively resulted in the company’s shares surging upward by almost 6 percent in morning trading.

Industry observers note that the fact that 888 evaded having its licence pulled, allied to the hard lessons and regulatory adjustments it has had to make, have actually made the company attractive to investors and possibly made it a target for M&A searchers.

Others point out that in putting the three-month long Commission investigation behind it and addressing its shortcomings, the company is now on firmer ground.

The fact that the company has been promoted to the FTSE 250 from the small cap market due to the remarkable rise in its share price in the past year probably helped as well; 888 shares have gained more than 22 percent and have jumped over 21 percent in the past 12 months.

Related and similar