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Total operating cost for the business, which includes Casino-on-Net, Pacific Poker, 888ladies, and 888 Sport on its roster, is $246.7 million which is down by more than $20 million compared to 2008 figures. The decline has been driven by the harsh economic climate and the effects of foreign currency.

Although profits are down the expectations for the past year have been exceeded and the business has been busy feathering its nest and adding strings to its bow with a series of partnerships, deals, and acquisitions.

A business to business division has been launched called ‘Dragonfish’ and the acquisition of the hugely popular Wink Bingo website site was completed December 31, 2009 and is already contributing to revenue and profit.

The numbers of real money registrations increased by 22% from 5. Million in 2008 to 7.1m. Dragonfish worked out a deal with e-Payments processors Linden Lab which extends its offering beyond online gaming

Gigi Levy, CEO of 888 Holdings, said: "2009 was the year that validated the strength of the Group's combined business model: a world class B2C operator and an innovative and comprehensive B2B service provider. Whilst the market for our B2C business remained challenging we retained our focus on innovation to ensure our offering remains at the forefront of the gaming experience with exciting visuals, increased interactivity, more community focus and a new customer loyalty programme. In January this year we also launched a new streamlined, distinctive and digital look to our four key sub-brands - 888Casino, 888Poker, 888Bingo and 888Sport.

“Our B2B offering became a separate business unit and was officially launched under its own brand as Dragonfish. Dragonfish has grown significantly in 2009 signing a number of new agreements including a partnership with Linden Lab for payment service provision which extends our reach outside the online gaming market for the first time. Yesterday we announced an agreement with bwin Italia to provide a comprehensive casino offering, our first move into the newly regulated Italian casino market.

“2010 started well with strong January trading followed by a slightly slower February. During the first 79 days of Q1 average daily revenue was 3% higher than the strong Q4 (a decline of 3% on a like-for-like basis excluding Wink). Given our strong operational and financial platform we remain confident of our prospects for the year ahead," he said.