Entain to begin digital makeover of betting shops

The gambling giant will turn Ladbrokes, Coral and Eurobet premises in the UK and Italy into digital shops.

UK.- Entain is to begin revamping its physical betting shops in Europe to transform them into digital stores. It will start the alterations with Ladbrokes and Coral in the UK and Eurobet in Italy. It has already trialled new designs for stores with the aim of digitising the customer experience.

It now plans to open 30 Ladbrokes and Coral digital stores in Leeds, Birmingham, London, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Wolverhampton, Newcastle, Dumfries and Leicester by the end of the year. It aims to have 200 UK digital stores by the end of 2024.

Entain CFO and deputy chief executive Rob Wood said: “Entain is a global online operator, but we are focused on delivering a great local experience for our customers.

“This digital makeover of shops, together with ongoing investments into our industry-leading tech platform and £100m of innovation investment over the next three years, are important drivers of our future growth.”

Andy Hicks, Entain retail MD for the UK and Ireland, said: “We want to bring the experiences customers have with us online into our shops, also making them more digital and contemporary environments. We want to offer local customers a place to socialize, enjoy sports, bet and play games in a relaxed and enjoyable way.”

In Italy, Entain aims to open 30 Eurobet digital stores this year. These will include Eurobet Cafés where customers can socialise.

Andrea Faelli, managing director of Entain in Italy, said: “This is all about offering a different and more distinctive experience to new and existing customers. We want to move from simply offering betting shops to hosting spaces in town centres where people can come to have a good time, which may or may not include having a bet.”

Last week, the British gaming giant Entain confirmed that it had received an acquisition offer from the US sports betting and fantasy sports operator DraftKings. The US company now has until October 19 to make a firm offer.

Last month Entain announced its acquisition of esports operator Unikrn.