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Key people at 888.com.
888.com was founded in 1997 by Ofer Lazovski (Co-Founder, VP R&D).
Founded in 1997 by Avi Shaked, Aaron Shaked, Shay Ben-Yitzhak, and Ron Ben-Yitzhak, the 888 brand is a Gibraltar and London-based online betting platform providing digital casino games, sports betting, and poker. Operating as a flagship consumer brand for its publicly traded parent company, the platform serves over three million customers across regulated global markets. The broader corporate entity, which trades on the London Stock Exchange and recently rebranded to Evoke, employs over eleven thousand people and maintains approximately fourteen hundred retail locations. Alongside its core consumer offerings, the organization operates a B2B gaming software licensing platform called Dragonfish. Furthermore, the parent company significantly expanded its portfolio through the nearly two billion pound acquisition of William Hill and Mr Green. This combined enterprise generated about one billion seven hundred million pounds in total revenue during 2023.
888.com was founded in 1997 by Ofer Lazovski (Co-Founder, VP R&D).
Key people at 888.com.
888.com, operated by Evoke plc (formerly 888 Holdings plc), is a leading international online gambling company offering casino, poker, sports betting, and bingo services through brands like 888casino, 888poker, 888sport, and 888ladies.[3][1][2] It serves a global audience of players seeking real-money gaming entertainment, solving the demand for accessible, licensed online gambling platforms amid regulatory shifts and digital expansion.[1][3] The company has demonstrated strong growth momentum, including U.S. market re-entry via partnerships and acquisitions, rapid brand launches like 888.es in Spain, and public listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2005.[1][2][3]
888.com traces its roots to 1997, when it was founded in the British Virgin Islands as Virtual Holdings Limited by brothers Avi and Aaron Shaked, and Shay and Ron Ben-Yitzhaq, who identified the potential of online casinos.[1][2] That May, its Antiguan subsidiary secured a gaming license, launching Casino-on-Net as its first proprietary product, which quickly built a customer base.[1][2] In 1998, Random Logic Limited was established in Tel Aviv for R&D and marketing to support expansion.[1][2]
Key milestones include rebranding to 888 in 2002 alongside launches of Reef Club Casino and Pacific Poker; going public on the London Stock Exchange in 2005; acquiring Globalcom's bingo business in 2007; and debuting 888sport in 2008 to cover all major online gaming segments.[1][2][3] U.S. operations paused in 2006 due to the UIGEA but resumed selectively from 2013, powering sites in Delaware and Nevada.[3]
888.com rides the wave of online gambling digitization, capitalizing on internet proliferation in the late 1990s and post-UIGEA regulatory maturation, which favored licensed operators over offshore sites.[1][3] Timing was critical: launching amid the 1997 online casino boom and adapting to 2006 U.S. restrictions by diversifying globally and returning via state-legalized markets from 2013.[3] Favorable forces include mobile gaming growth (e.g., 888ladies apps) and iGaming legalization in Europe and U.S. states, boosting revenues like $14 million from bingo in its first half-year post-2007 acquisition.[3]
It influences the ecosystem by powering multiple U.S. sites (four of five legal ones in 2015), pioneering networks like All American Poker, and setting consumer protection standards as a founding eCOGRA member.[1][3]
Evoke plc (888) is poised for continued U.S. expansion through ownership of networks like All American Poker and partnerships in emerging regulated markets, while leveraging its full-suite offerings for cross-sell growth.[3] Trends like mobile-first gaming, AI-driven personalization, and further iGaming legalization will shape its path, potentially amplifying influence via acquisitions or tech integrations.[1][3] As a pioneer from the internet gambling genesis, 888's adaptability—from 1997's Casino-on-Net to today's global brands—positions it to lead the next phase of digital entertainment betting.
