It's the end of an era for the 888 sports betting brand in the Garden State.
Following a two-week delay from the announced June 3 shutdown date, 888casino and 888poker ceased operations in New Jersey on Monday. While new deposits were not accepted from 30 days prior to closure, players could still use their remaining account balance to place bets until the closing date.
The move comes amidst a series of organizational shifts at parent company evoke plc, which announced its new name as part of 888 Holdings’ strategic review in March.
With evoke having recently sold its US operations to Hard Rock Digital, the 888casino and 888poker websites now refer players to sign up with Hard Rock Bet. 888casino was only available in New Jersey, with evoke using its Sports Illustrated (SI) brand in other US states. However, SI Casino and Sportsbook are also expected to close within the next 18 months.
Despite shutting down 888casino and 888poker, evoke is still backing its other US poker product, Poker 8, which is currently available in Pennsylvania and Michigan. The site launched in New Jersey on May 31, just before the planned shutdown of 888poker and 888casino.
The Poker 8 platform allows players to join game tables and play online against fellow poker
players from MI and PA. This cross-state expansion of the player pool allows Poker 8 to offer more cash games, tournaments, and larger prize pots.
“The latest poker platform upgrade in America will deliver superior gameplay experiences for players in Michigan, New Jersey and Nevada," Jeffrey Haas, evoke's chief growth officer, said in a statement. "... Poker is a game of liquidity and network effects, and our Poker 8 upgrade will be a catalyst for expansion.”
