Those talks ended in February because of differences over valuation and 888 shares have risen 22 percent since. The share gain has propelled 888’s market value to about £658 million.
Another possibility could see a combination of Unibet Group and Stockholm-based Betsson AB, Bartlett said. The companies rank seventh and 10th, respectively, in his online-gaming rankings.
Bloomberg reports about this trend by pointing to Paddy Power £2.9 billion takeover of Betfair Group, and also about another 72 deals across the gambling industry in general this year. And there is more to come in 2016, mainly in Europe, the Middle East and African region. There are too many players in the EMEA gaming market. Further consolidation should leave the remaining players better placed to cope with increasing regulation and capital expenditure requirements.