Evoke Consolidates Romanian Operations as 888 Players Move to Winner.ro

Evoke has completed a major restructuring of its Romanian business by transferring all 888 player accounts to Winner.ro’s infrastructure. The project, which began in mid-August, unifies the group’s casino, sportsbook, and poker activity under New Gambling Solutions SRL (NGS), the local company running Winner.ro.

From August 19 onward, players were redirected in stages. Customers of 888casino.ro and 888sport.ro saw their accounts shifted to the new 888.ro site. Balances, pending wagers, verified documents, and bonus credits were moved automatically, while legacy apps now only serve as redirects to updated versions.

For casino and sports users, the process was relatively seamless. Poker players, however, faced a more complex transition: those linked to casino or sportsbook accounts had to register again on 888poker.ro. Unused tournament tickets were refunded in cash, but loyalty points and progress within the Rewards system did not carry over — an issue that generated frustration among some users.

For poker players, the migration was less straightforward. While 888poker.ro continues to operate on the Poker 8 platform with international liquidity, many users had to register new accounts if their profiles were previously tied to casino or sportsbook products.

Unused tournament tickets were automatically converted into cash, but loyalty points and progress within the Rewards program did not carry over. This caused frustration among some players, particularly those who had accumulated significant points or advanced through multiple tiers.

Despite these changes, the poker experience itself remains unchanged — the software, game selection, and player pool are identical. What has shifted is the regulatory framework: all poker activity in Romania is now managed under New Gambling Solutions SRL, the entity behind Winner.ro.

Although the poker software itself remains unchanged — continuing on the Poker 8 platform with global liquidity — the operator behind it has changed. All accounts are now administered by NGS instead of 888 Romania Limited.

This licensing move is strategically significant. The new authorization runs until November 2033, providing long-term regulatory security compared with the former license, which would have expired in 2026.

The migration follows Evoke’s €10 million purchase of a 51% stake in Winner.ro in late 2024. Winner quickly rose to prominence after launching in 2019, building a strong retail network of over 20,000 deposit points nationwide. In the first half of 2024 alone, the brand generated close to €19 million in revenue.

By integrating 888’s international brand with Winner’s local presence, Evoke estimated it could secure around 7% of Romania’s online gambling market, ranking the combined operation fourth in the country. Winner.ro continues to specialize in casino and sports betting, while poker remains under the established 888 identity.

With the migration finalized, Evoke has delivered on its plan to merge its Romanian businesses into one locally licensed operator. The longer license horizon, unified account structure, and combination of international and local branding provide the group with a more stable foundation for future growth in the market.