Entain to explore VR and NFTs with new innovation hub

The UK gaming company has announced the launch of a £100m hub to investigate emerging new areas in gaming.

UK.- Entain has announced a £100m investment in a new innovation hub dubbed Ennovate. The hub will investigate emerging areas as the FTSE100 gaming operator seeks to become a “global leader in innovative entertainment”.

Areas of interest for the hub will include the metaverse, virtual reality (VR) augmented reality and non-fungible tokens (NFT).

Entain said that 40 per cent of the hub’s funding would go on UK-based initiatives, which will include the creation of a chain of high-street VR arcades featuring a “pioneering VR multi-sports club experience”.

Meanwhile, it will begin to introduce NFTs across its brands, starting with PartyPoker.

The PartyPoker NFTs, powered by Theta Labs, will showcase “iconic video moments and tournament trends” from the brand’s history. 

The new hub will include a lab located at Charterhouse Square in Farringdon, London, near to the British headquarters of TikTok and Snapchat.

Opening in spring, the lab will be used as a base for innovative work with commercial and not-for-profit partners and will have an ‘Experience Zone’ where customers, investors, partners and employees can test immersive experiences.

Meanwhile, accelerator and incubator programmes will look to work with startups specialising in immersive experiences, interactive entertainment and the metaverse. The accelerator programme will invest £5m in individual initiatives.

Entain chief executive Jette Nygaard-Andersen said: “We want to lead the way with new, exciting products and experiences for customers and use our cutting-edge technology to pioneer innovations in sport, gaming and interactive entertainment for the metaverse.”

Chief operating officer Sandeep Tiku said: “Our goal is to bring the most exciting experiences in immersive sport, gaming and interactive entertainment to life as the metaverse takes shape. Working with partners we believe we can achieve great things faster, both for customers and to apply these technologies and skills to benefit wider society.”

Entain also has plans to establish new relationships and partnerships with “technology innovators”. As well as Theta Labs, it’s already collaborating with Verizon and BT on computing and 5G mobile programmes.

Entain also said it will allow not-for-profit partners to access its new technological developments and will provide funding through Ennovate.

“We also want to use our position as a global technology leader to help drive innovation more widely,” Nygaard-Andersen said. “Working with partners around the globe, Ennovate will demonstrate how Entain’s industry-leading technology can both revolutionise experiences for consumers and deliver real benefits to society.”

Demand for esports

NFTs and VR are not the only emerging areas in gaming that Entain is pursuing.

Last week, the operator highlighted research that identified a correlation between video gaming and betting. Its survey of 16,000 people found video gamers were 4.3 times more likely to bet and 4.5 times more likely to take part in igaming. As such the operator predicts a stronger demand for esports betting in the future.

See also: Spain looks to include NFTs and loot boxes in gaming legislation