William Hill, 888 Holdings Take Big Hits Following United Kingdom's Decision To Leave European Union

Published on 2016-06-24 14:25:00

Major publicly traded online gaming firms, including the likes of William Hill, 888 Holdings and Amaya, Inc., are trading down following last night's referendum in the United Kingdom.

Despite oddsmakers listing the probability of a "Remain" vote at over 90% prior to Thursday, UK voters surprised practically everybody by voting to exit the European Union. Stocks had been ramping higher in anticipation of a "Remain" vote, which helped to make today's trading action even more volatile.

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As of this moment, 888 Holdings is down 7.55%, William Hill is down almost 8% and Amaya, Inc. is down 4.42% on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

The stock market hates uncertainty, and the businesses of all three companies (and numerous other online gaming firms) are certainly facing their fair share going forward.

It will likely take years for the United Kingdom to formally leave the European Union. The good news for online gaming companies is that there won't be any significant near-term changes to their business, but the bad news is that the uncertainty over the "Brexit" will likely be an overhang on shares until the situation is resolved. If other countries end up leaving the EU as well, the licensing situations faced by firms such as William Hill and 888 Holdings will likely grow even more complex.

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At the end of the day, a "Brexit" was an unexpected result that likely has the CEOs of the major online gaming firms scrambling heading into the weekend.

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Filed Under: Poker Room News