DraftKings is among the six sportsbook operators that have already obtained licenses in the state through partnerships with existing brick-and-mortar gaming facilities.
The six licensed operators – Barstool Sports, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel and PointsBet – can offer sports betting from 1 September with mobile betting allowed from 8 September.
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Freer had served as a non-executive director for 888 since July this year, as part of a string of appointments made after 888 acquired William Hill’s non-US assets from Caesars for £1.95bn (€2.25bn/$2.35bn).
Before his time at 888, Freer served as president and COO of Fox Networks Group. After this, he was appointed as CEO of streaming service Hulu before becoming a senior advisor for McKinsey and Company.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Randy for his contributions during his short time with 888, and wish him well for the future,” said Lord Mendelsohn, non-executive chairman at 888.
“With the highly relevant skills and experience of our recently strengthened board, we continue to see exciting opportunities ahead as we deliver the group’s growth strategy and generate further stakeholder value.”
Earlier this month, 888 reported a 13% decrease in revenue for its half year 2022 results.
The mobile-first online wagering services provider, which listed on Australia’s ASX in July 2021, posted turnover of AUS$511.9m during the financial year, which was up 48.5% on the previous 12 months.
It cited a strong performance in its Australian business, with active customers, turnover, net win and gross profit all increasing significantly as it grows market share. It also now has market access in four US states through its ‘capital lite’ US entry strategy, and has this week announced the debut of its ClutchBet B2C brand in the Iowa market.
It noted high return on marketing investment demonstrated by growing brand recognition and
annual customer value to cost to acquire a first time depositor ratio of 2.7x. It had 53,000 active customers by the end of the financial year, some 64.2% more than 12 months previously.
BlueBet also benefitted from successful technology development, with three new platforms launched for its Australian business to form the nucleus of approved US technology platforms.
Gross profit was up 47.9% to AUS$27.0m, with EBITDA down to a loss of AUS$5.5m following a big increase in marketing and licensing expenditure.
Bill Richmond, BlueBet’s chief executive, said: “I am very proud of the progress we have made in our first year as a listed company, having achieved a number of major strategic milestones, including touching down in the US, developing a leading technology platform and continuing to grow our market share in Australia.
“Our IPO provided us with the financial firepower to invest for growth. With our US B2C brand ClutchBet now live in the US, having taken our first bets in Iowa in this month, we are committed to executing the first stage of our differentiated ‘Capital Lite’ US strategy. The strength of our technology and our team is now on display as we move towards our B2B Sportsbook-as-a-Solution model in FY23.
“We have demonstrated our ability to grow a challenger brand in Australia while delivering strong margins and generating cash, which separates us from many of our competitors. We will continue to deploy our capital in a disciplined way as we grow.”
BlueBet announced this week that it has been licenced in the state of Iowa by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, and will soon take its first US bets under its ClutchBet brand.
With market access also secure in Colorado, Louisiana and Indiana, BlueBet said Iowa is the first stage of its differentiated US entry strategy, as it launches its US B2C brand ClutchBet to demonstrate the capability of its technology and team to run sportsbooks in the US.
Richmond said: “This is a huge moment in BlueBet’s history, and we are thrilled to bring our sportsbook to Iowa sports fans who we are confident will respond well to our mobile first online offering and differentiated market positioning.”
