After an unexplained two-week reprieve, 888casino and 888poker will shut down New Jersey operations on June 17. To ensure no delays in recouping their money, 888’s New Jersey customers should transfer any remaining balance from their accounts before next week’s deadline.
The closure of 888’s New Jersey platforms, initially scheduled for June 3, follows its sale to Hard Rock Digital in March. Hard Rock, owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, already operates its Hard Rock Bet casino and sportsbook in New Jersey. Currently, it has no plans to add poker to the mix.
The choice to offload 888’s consumer-facing US business came about three weeks after the UK-based brand opted to end its US partnership with Sports Illustrated. Simultaneously, it announced a “strategic review” of its entire American business-to-consumer operation.
According to the sale announcement, 888 Holdings—which has since rebranded to Evoke—will complete the transfer of its US B2C holdings by the end of 2024. The company has said both moves are part of a broader strategic business realignment.
888casino Players Urged to Sign Up at Hard Rock Bet
Ultimately, 888’s US B2C market exit means abandoned customers must turn to one of New Jersey’s other legal online casino and poker brands.
Notably, however, the Hard Rock sale did not impact 888 (Evoke’s) B2B relationship with Caesars. Through that partnership, Evoke supplies the technical backend for Caesars’ World Series of Poker (WSOP) offering. That means New Jersey users who move to WSOP will use Evoke’s updated Poker8 technology, which it calls a “generational upgrade.” They’ll also benefit from WSOP’s shared liquidity between Michigan, Nevada, and New Jersey—the country’s largest poker network.
On the casino side, 888casino’s New Jersey landing page currently features a prominent message alerting players to the upcoming closure. The notification also urges New Jersey’s 888casino players to sign up for Hard Rock Bet, indicating that customer migration is not automatic.
Bonus attempted to reach 888 support and Evoke’s media representatives to confirm closure details but received no response before publication. However, according to the message noted above, 888’s New Jersey casino and poker sites disabled customer deposits 30 days before shutting down.
Online withdrawals are available—for now—but it’s unclear if they’ll remain available after play suspends, as other exiting providers have permitted.
Players Missing Withdrawal Window May Have to Wait for a Check
To be safe, anyone wanting prompt return of their remaining balance should log in to their account and transfer it out before Monday. However, New Jersey regulations should ensure that all players get their funds regardless, so long as their address is up to date.
888 hasn’t specified what will happen to any remaining player balances after the site goes offline for good. However, the typical procedure for previous operators that have shut down is that funds have been sent by mail as a check to the account holder’s last address on file. That may take a while to arrive, however.
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