888poker to continue as World Series of Poker sponsor for sixth year

London-listed gaming operator 888 Holdings has renewed its sponsorship of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) for a sixth consecutive year.

Continuing a collaboration which began in 2015, the agreement will see 888poker maintain the exclusive right to host official online satellite qualifiers and online WSOP-themed promotions.

The operator will also gain extensive online and TV exposure through PokerGo and ESPN’s coverage of the WSOP Main Event.

“We are very excited to be sponsoring the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas for the sixth year running,” said 888 Holdings senior vice president of B2C Guy Cohen. “We’re proud to be longstanding partners of WSOP, the biggest and most popular poker series in the world, as part of our commitment to make poker more accessible and exciting for our customers who will be able to qualify to the biggest poker event of the year directly from 888poker’s online platform.”

The world’s most prestigious poker series is expected to host a record number of players at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, starting from 26 May, with last year's event seeing a record 187,298 entries, creating a 50-year high of more than $293m in prize money.

888poker will be the only operator that offers poker players from outside the US the opportunity to qualify through its online platform, and will host various online promotions and campaigns including multi-step satellite tournaments, with buy-ins starting from 1 cent.

Shares in 888 Holdings plc (LSE:888) were trading up marginally by 0.27 per cent at 129.85 pence per share in London earlier Friday.