Entain Group Trading Update Overall Gaming Revenues Are Up

In a trading update for Q1, Entain Plc has said that overall gaming revenues are up by 31% for this period despite online betting having declined.

Entain, the UK-based group that owns Coral and Ladbrokes, two of the big sports and gaming retail operators in the UK. Plus, a host of online sports betting and gaming brands, including Bwin, Sporting Bet, and Foxy Bingo.

The group’s gaming revenues are up because, as Entain says, the retail customers have headed back to the land-based betting outlets now that life is returning to some sort of normality after the worst of the pandemic. However, for the same reason, the downside is that the online revenue for Entain is down by 8% for the same period.

The partnership with MGM Resorts in 2018 launching BetMGM is continuing the group’s growth in the North American markets with their products available to a large percentage of the US population. BetMGM entered four new markets in the first quarter and was also involved in the recent launch of online sportsbook gaming in Ontario earlier this month.

Entain has recently stated it is also looking for growth through acquisitions. The group hasn’t paid out a dividend during the past two years of the pandemic and will use this to fund any acquisitions.

We have started the year with a good performance across all areas of our business, driven as ever by the strength of our industry-leading platform. We have delivered strong performances in all of our major markets, and I am pleased to report that Re-tail is performing well with customers returning for our in-store experience.

In the US, BetMGM is firmly established as the number two operator, and our market launches during Q1 mean that we now have access to over 41% of the US adult population. Elsewhere, our strategy of expanding into new markets is continuing at pace, having acquired businesses in Canada, Latvia and Poland during Q1.

Jette Nygaard-AndersenEntain CEO