888 Shares Soars Following Harrahs Gambling Deal

Shareholders of UK-based online gambling giant, 888 Holdings Plc, will be all smiles today after firm's share price soared following news that it had signed a contract with leading U.S. land gambling company, Harrah's Entertainment Inc, to provide it with state-of-the-art online gambling services.

Shares of 888 Holdings, which owns and operates Casino-on-Net and Pacific Poker, rose by 11.7 pence to 97 pence and traded at 94.25 pence as of 10:30 GMT this morning on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Despite its stock dropping over 3 points this year, 888 has a market value of 324 million pounds.

As the second largest online gambling firm in the UK, 888, like most of its competitors, wants to be ready to re-enter the lucrative U.S. online gambling market when the country eventually reverses its draconian online gambling ban and follows the UK in legalizing and regulating online gambling within its borders.

In anticipation of this, many of America's largest land casino groups, such as Harrah's Entertainment, have started making strategic plans to ensure that they are also poised to benefit from a potentially free and highly lucrative online gambling-friendly state. Enter the symbiotic deal between Harrah's and 888.