In perhaps the understatement of the year, and certainly the most eagerly-awaited response to the current manna of full year fiscals falling from gambling heaven, the UK’s troubled omnichannel, Entain, has recorded yet another mega loss; not quite the -£879 million (-US$1.13bn) hit of 2023 but still coming in at a negative £461 million (-US$593.5m).
All this on the back of a slew of set-backs, well documented in these pages, that have been diplomatically described as “a year of transformation” by the brave Stella David, who’s currently occupying the very hot hot-seat of CEO, albeit on a temporary basis after the sudden departure of Gavin Isaacs.
Despite the huge loss, on paper at least, the owner of blue ribband Ladbrokes Coral, bwin, partypoker, Sportingbet, et al, did manage to squeeze some six percent of Net Gaming Revenue (NGR) over its domain.
The one constant spot of positivity on its economic horizon–following its recent corruption and money laundering scandals, both historic, and this year in Australia–is the performance of its BetMGM U.S. joint-venture with MGM Resorts International, which–both owners insist–is poised to go US$500m EBITDA-positive in short order (£388.4m), while continuing to build on its 22 percent share of America’s iGaming market and a chunky eight percent of the national online sports betting business.
Brazil, reporting annual NGR growth of 41 percent, looks promising; while BetMGM’s US revenue hit US$2.1 billion (£1.63bn), an increase of seven percent over 2023.
Entain’s Central and Eastern Europe division–in a belated pay-off to the acquisition strategy of its former CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen, fired under acrimonious circumstances in December 2023–also performed well, with SuperSport in Croatia, for example, driving 16 percent NGR growth. Italy’s NGR grew by a more modest three percent; although Australia, currently under regulatory investigation, flat-lined.
Moving forward, as well as continuing its search for a new CEO, Entain is determined to pursue its stated long-term strategy of building in regulated iGaming across the world.
“2024 has been a year of transformation for Entain,” affirmed Interim CEO David.
“I am delighted to see that our strategic and operational improvements are translating into strong performance; clear evidence that our strategy is delivering.
“I want to thank all my colleagues for their tremendous hard work and resilience.”
And for bravely hanging in there, she may very well have added.
