Entain plans exit from unregulated markets

The company has accelerated plans to exit several unregulated markets where it can no longer see a path to domestic regulation.

UK.- Back in 2020, Entain Plc announced a plan for all of its revenue to come from locally regulated markets by the end of 2023. Now, that plan has been put into action and the company has recently announced it will exit several unregulated markets where it no longer sees a path to domestic regulation.

Through a press release, Entain Plc stated it is now licenced in more than 30 countries and will remain in only a small number of markets where it expects regulation changes will enable it to obtain domestic licenses in due course. 

The company pointed out: “except for these markets, 100 per cent of the Group’s revenue will now be from domestically regulated markets where it is licenced. The net gaming revenue and EBITDA impact from these closures is relatively small and will not affect current expectations.”

Barry Gibson, Entain’s Chair, said: “As part of the profound and far-reaching transformation programme that Entain has undergone in the last few years, we took the decision in 2020 to only operate in nationally regulated markets. 

“Today’s announcement is therefore a continuation of that strategy and should be taken as a clear demonstration of Entain’s commitment to the highest standards of corporate responsibility, governance, sustainability, and player safety. 

“We stated at the outset that we would exit any market that wasn’t able to regulate at sufficient pace or to the right standards, and we have acted decisively to do so. We are proud to be leading our industry as the only global operator taking this approach of solely operating in markets where there is domestic licencing.”

Last year, the company completed its acquisition of SuperSport, the leading bookmaker in Croatia. The acquisition was completed via Entain CEE, in partnership with Czech private equity fund EMMA Capital, paying €600m for a 75 per cent controlling share in the Croatian operator. The move expands Entain’s reach beyond the presence of Optibet in Estonia and Latvia and Totolotek in Poland.

Entain also completed the acquisition of BetEnt B.V., which trades under the BetCity.nl name, from Sports Entertainment Media. BetCity is one of the Netherlands’ leading licensed operators in the newly regulated online sports betting and gaming market.