888 Focuses On Launching Online Poker In Colorado Before End Of 2021

888 has announced plans to offer casino and poker games to U.S players under the Sports Illustrated (SI) brand.

It forms part of a new deal between 888Holdings and Authentic Brands Group (ABG), SI’s parent company, enabling both companies to jointly launch SI-branded sports betting and iGaming products across the country.

Players in Colorado will be the first to have access to the new platform this year, followed by other states.

888poker’s latest partnership with ABG is set to give another huge boost to the company’s US expansion plans. Its strong relationship with Caesars Interactive Entertainment has already achieved another milestone with the upcoming launch of WSOP.com in both Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Now, with a new SI-branded sportsbook, online casino, and poker platform, 888poker has added another potentially successful product to its growing iGaming portfolio. This will give the company more options as to how it plans to expand in the US.

888poker already announced its intention to establish and grow its own brand in the future, but for now, the main focus will be on its partnerships with both the WSOP.com and SI.

888 Holdings Senior Vice President and Head of US Yaniv Sherman said they’re excited to see interstate compacts come into play as they will enable regulated markets, like MI and PA, to create their own interstate deal or join the existing Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), which also includes New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware.

When that happens, the 888/WSOP network is poised for more growth, with 888poker’s partnership with SI also set to benefit from such compacts.

In terms of expanding its sportsbook, 888poker will likely focus on the SI-branded platform as it believes it is much better equipped for competition in the US market than 888sport.

888 Prioritizing SI Poker

However, when it comes to the online poker side of things, Sherman said they have no definite plans yet on which poker platform they’re going to pour in most of their effort. Their decision will mainly base on SI Poker’s performance in Colorado. They could focus on the expansion of SI Poker or 888poker, or both.

For now, 888poker only runs its own online poker site in New Jersey. Sherman has made it clear they needed to establish SI Poker first and give it the proper bandwidth and attention before pursuing plans to grow the 888poker brand. Any success achieved by the SI brand will also be a success for 888poker in general.