Clutching at Qatar, It’s Hardly World Cup Winning Form But Entain Stays in The Game
It’s hardly World Cup winning form but, given the dire economic outlook, Entain have delivered a solid, if not spectacular, Q3 in hyper-active online trading that reversely saw near-flat-line gaming revenue.
That’s the takeaway from a Trading Update published today (October 13) by the gambling Omnichannel, led by the effervescent Jette Nygaard-Andersen.
With net gaming revenue only up by two per cent, year-on-year, despite record customer engagement during the three-months ending September 30, the Entain CEO now “look(s) forward to a strong finish to the year which includes the (Qatar Football) World Cup.”
“We remain vigilant of the economic backdrop, however. Our diversified revenue base and robust business model enable us to remain confident in our ability to deliver on our growth and sustainability strategy,” the boss of the FTSE-100 gambling giant assured a jittery London market and stakeholders.
Yet, speculation aside, Entain’s online revenue was up only one per cent, year-on-year, across both sports and casino in Q3, reported the Trading Update.
Retail Rebounds
This side of the Atlantic—in the UK, Ireland, Italy and Belgium—Entain’s 4,274 tried and trusted retail betting shops cashed up to the rescue, with their revenue surging by ten points and over-the-counter bets up by four per cent.
And across the pond it was Entain’s BetMGM joint-venture with MGM Resorts International which caught all the headlines, notching Q3 net gaming revenue of over US$400 million (£358.48m/€414.9m) – up a spectacular 90 per cent, compared to Q3 2021.
Holding a steady quarter of sportsbetting market share in the US states where it plays, BetMGM remains firmly behind FanDuel and DraftKings but is still on track to become a billion dollar baby over the full fiscal year.
Meantime, Entain is confident that its projected full-year EBITDA is in line with the previous guidance of around £950 million (US$1.06bn/€1.098bn), representing annual growth of between five to 10 per cent.
The current economic climate, stressed Nygaard-Andersen, is “unlikely” to derail Entain’s planned acquisitions in The Netherlands and Croatia.
One can only hope that she’s not just talking to the goalkeeper’s hand.
