Entain total addressable market expected to grow more than $160bn

Entain total addressable market is expected to grow more $160bn extensions into interactive entertainment with a move into esports.

Press release.- Entain, the global sports betting, gaming, and interactive entertainment group, is hosting an investor event today to outline the exciting growth opportunities ahead for the business.

Entain’s two strategic pillars of growth and sustainability are the core drivers of our success. Sustainability is a strategic imperative and we are making significant progress with our sustainability charter that we will provide an update on in more detail later in the year. Today’s event will focus on the four key growth opportunities available to the Group:

• Leadership in the US ($32bn markets, from $6bn today)
We are making significant progress in the growing US sports betting and iGaming market. BetMGM is firmly established as the number two operator in the market and is targeting a long-term market share of 20% to 25% of the North American online market, which we expect will grow from around $6bn today to around $32bn over the long term.

• Grow our presence in core markets ($70bn markets, from $40bn today)
We are licensed in 27 countries today as well as operating in a number that is in the process of regulating. We have leadership positions in a significant number of these with an average market share currently of around 13% to 15%. We have a strong track record of driving organic growth and our markets have in-built growth as online betting and gaming extends its appeal and scale. We estimate these markets to be worth around
$40bn today and expect them to grow to around $70bn over the long term.

• Expand into new regulated markets ($40bn markets)
We will only operate in regulated markets by the end of 2023, providing the highest quality of earnings for our stakeholders. We have a strong track record of M&A and our global brands, regulatory expertise and scale also enable us to enter markets organically. Increasing numbers of markets are regulating for betting and gaming; there are over 50 such markets around the world that we do not operate in today that we believe will be worth around $40bn over the long term.

• Extend into new interactive entertainment experiences ($20bn+ market)
The worlds of media, entertainment, and gaming are converging. Customers want a richer experience, including more content, interactive experiences, new and free-to-play games, as well as social content.
Our Entain platform enables us to offer new and existing customers an even more engaging experience with additional content and media, as well as interactive entertainment. This enables us to increase our customer base, scale, and reach as well as drive engagement, retention and revenues that in turn drives flywheel effects to our business.

Esports is a rapidly growing market and, with over 450m viewers, it is now established as a mainstream sport, particularly amongst the 18-35 demographic. Skill-based wagering for casual esports gamers is emerging, but existing operators lack scale providing Entain with a clear opportunity in a new area related to our core expertise.

Entain has agreed to acquire the technology platform, products, and team of Unikrn, a leading esports betting and entertainment media company. These, combined with our capabilities, analytics, regulatory experience, player protection, and scale, provide a unique industry-first platform to address this exciting and growing market. The acquisition is subject to completion which is expected to happen later this year.

To lead our efforts in driving this new area of growth, we are delighted to announce the appointment of Justin Dellario as our new Head of esports. Justin joins from Twitch, the world’s leading live streaming platform for gamers, and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in both esports content and operational delivery. He will report to Sameer Deen who recently joined as our Chief Strategy Officer and President of New Ventures to help drive our growth into interactive entertainment.

There is also a clear opportunity in the casual mobile gaming market which has grown rapidly in recent years. Within this, there are many different games categories a number of which, such as Social Casino, align with our own strategy, our core offering, and our capabilities. High growth categories that can drive high levels of acquisition and engagement will further increase our flywheel effects enabling us to grow our customer base, increase retention and drive revenues.

We estimate that together the esports wagering and social casino-related markets could add an incremental $20bn+ in addressable markets for us by 2025.

Jette Nygaard-Andersen, Entain’s CEO, commented: “Entain has built a powerful platform combining our industry-leading technology, people, and capabilities that are driving significant growth in our existing markets, including the US, but also enables us to grow into new and emerging markets and opportunities related to our core areas of expertise. Our platform enables us to meet the evolving needs of our customers as we capitalize on the convergence of media, entertainment, and gaming and extend into interactive entertainment. All together this means the markets we address have the potential to be several times larger than today.

“One exciting opportunity is the growing esports skill-based wagering market. We are building the first scalable platform to address this market and I am delighted that Justin Dellario is joining us to lead our growth in this new area.

“By leveraging the opportunities in front of us, focusing on the customer, and expanding our acquisition funnel by creating powerful customer engagement flywheel effects, we have many years of growth ahead that will drive significant incremental value for our stakeholders.”

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation EU 596/2016.