Is 888 Considering a Launch of SI Poker in Michigan? – Signs point to yes. Factors include Michigan joining MSIGA, talk of an SI Casino launch, & an 888 exec saying SI-branded poker could run alongside WSOP. TwinSpires’ exit from Michigan may have sped up plans by 888 Holdings and the parent of Sports Illustrated (SI) to launch SI Poker in the state.
A launch of SI Poker — a skin that hasn’t been explicitly mentioned in any recent 888 financials — was identified by name in a wide-ranging interview from July 2021 with an 888 executive.
That executive — Yaniv Sherman, who, at the time, was 888’s Senior Vice President and Head of US — told Poker Industry PRO that 888 and its joint venture partner, Authentic Brands Group (ABG), were likely to launch a real money US online poker product in either Michigan or Pennsylvania and that it would be offered under either an SI skin or 888poker.
SI Poker is more likely because 888 has already mentioned launching an SI Casino product. Four Specific Criteria Have Been Met
During the interview, Sherman identified four criteria that would precede the launch of the SI Poker App . All four of those criteria have now been met. The executive said explicitly that:
> 888 would shift its attention to SI products (online sportsbook, casino, and poker — in that order) following the launch of WSOP MI . The poker room, powered by 888, went live in March and currently competes against BetMGM Poker MI and PokerStars MI.
888 would move forward if it was satisfied with SI Sportsbook’s performance in Colorado . During an earnings call on August 12 to discuss 1H 2022, CEO Itai Pazner called Colorado “a very, very competitive market” but didn’t indicate that the brand wasn’t holding its own after launching in CO in September 2021. It followed up with a launch in Virginia in May 2022.
888 would discuss launching an online casino skin called SI Casino . Plans to create an SI-branded presence in the vertical appear to have been made in the 1H 2022 […]
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