About this app
What is Fire 88?
“Second, the opportunity itself was time-limited. 888Africa became available because of Evoke’s own strategic evolution, and assets of this quality with this kind of market position do not come up often.
“Third, the African market has matured to a point where the regulatory, mobile and demographic tailwinds are now translating into genuine, durable growth rather than early-stage promise.”
However Hjalmar Ahlberg, who covers GiG as an analyst for Redeye, suggests the decision to acquire 888Africa and re-enter B2C may be partly down to headwinds being experienced by the company’s B2B business.
What is Fire 88?
U.S. Patent No. 12,406,284, which lists Commerce Secretary and former Cantor CEO Howard Lutnick as its primary inventor, covers geolocation technology commonly used in sports betting.
Geolocation services, which are typically purchased through third-party vendors, are used by sportsbook operators to ensure that their clients are placing wagers from jurisdictions in which sports wagering is legal.
“During prosecution, the Examiner did not apply the material prior art or straightforward combinations presented here, which render every challenged claim obvious,” according to a DraftKings filing with the patent office.
What is Fire 88?
Cirsa has followed an aggressive acquisition strategy in recent years, most recently entering the land-based casino market in Portugal by acquiring a majority stake in Sociedade Figueira Praia, S.A., the owner and operator of Casino Figueira.
Prior to that, Cirsa entered the Paraguay market through an acquisition of the online slots operator Slots del Sol, while it also acquired the leading Peruvian operator Apuesta Total in 2024.
As of June 2025, the company had completed over 130 acquisitions since 2015.
