888.com Chief Executive John Anderson Steps Down

The timing of 888.com Chief Executive John Anderson's announcement may be off-putting to shareholders, but the recent performance of his company will buoy their spirits some.

The online gaming giant announced on Thursday that the company enjoyed an 88% jump in first-half underlying earnings, but that announcement was tempered by the unexpected departure of John Anderson, who will be stepping down at the end of the year after leading the company for six years.

The online gaming industry is entrenched in turmoil following the recent arrests in the US of former BetonSports executive David Carruthers and former SportingBet chairman Peter Dicks on racketeering and online gambling charges stemming from their involvement with online gaming companies offering wagers to US residents. The industry was rocked again by more arrests this week of BWin executives who were in France to promote a sponsorship deal with a Monaco football club. Anderson's departure comes only months after the resignation of PartyGaming CEO Richard Segal (replaced by Mitch Garber in April).

Anderson stated he wishes to spend more time investing in the property market, strongly rejecting suggestions his departure is due to the uncertainty surrounding the online gaming industry and the arrests of Carruthers, Dicks and the BWin executives.

Anderson instead preferred to focus on the recent strong performance of 888.com. Exceeding analysts' expectations, 888.com almost doubled its previous first-half year earnings in 2006, booking a profit of $48 million before tax and share benefit charges, and Anderson focused on this performance in his statement:

"I am proud to have led 888, since 2000, through its formative years into the success it is today. Over the past six years, 888 has been a pioneer in the online gaming industry. These are excellent results and represent a record performance of profitable growth. We have delivered on all our flotation goals."

Anderson will be succeeded by Gigi Levy, who joined the company in June. However, Levy may face tough times ahead as he seeks to gradually decrease 888.com's reliance on the US market (half of 888.com revenue is generated in the US).

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