888 and Bwin in Merger Whispers

20th November, 2009

One of the best uk casino companies and one of Europe's biggest online bookmakers have been shaking the grapevines of the UK and Germany, as the whisper is that 888.com and Bwin.com are to merge.

The rumours are rife among the German investmnet community, so much so that CEOs from both Gibraltar's 888.com and Austria's Bwin.com, have come out to dismiss such talk.

Co-CEO of Bwin, Norbert Teufelberger told industry publication EGRMagazine 'We have contacts with everybody and common goals in that we want to operate in regulated markets. So yes, we talk to many operators and consolidation is always an option, but in this instance there has been no call to raise funds from existing shareholders with a view to acquiring 888'.

Meanwhile CEO of 888.com, Gigi Levy, discounted the rumours as well, stating that 888 had 'known Bwin for a long time but there is no truth in these rumours'.

These rumours come on the back of Bwin's announcement on Wednesday that they had smashed their Q3 revenue targets, with a 75% rise (up to €16.8m) on this time last year.