Entain shareholders not ‘entertained’ by revenue decline

By Dave Sawyer, Last updated Sep 25, 2023

Entain plc the gambling business behemoth which owns and operates some of the largest and most recognisable betting brands in the UK have seen many shareholders offload their holdings today. Thus causing a sharp fall in their share price, as a result of Entain warning of a  decline in online gambling revenue for the group.

This morning saw Entain update the markets on their trading results for 2023 so far and it made sober reading for investors, with the company noting that online net gaming revenue had been mixed among the group.

As a result, trading of shares in Entain saw the price fall  11% by mid morning, reaching a level not seen since 2020 and making the company the biggest faller of the day in the FTSE 100.

However, trying to put a positive spin on their future outlook for the remainder of 2023, Chief Executive Officer Jette Nygaard-Andersen stated: “We continue to see good underlying growth in our online business and are reiterating our EBITDA guidance for the year despite softer than expected revenue growth in Q3 and the ongoing roll-out of industry-leading safer gambling measures.”

“We continue to attract more customers than ever before to enjoy our products and services.  BetMGM remains on track to deliver positive EBITDA in H2 and a full year NGR performance at the top end of our expectations, and we are particularly excited about the product improvements that we are rolling out over the NFL season.”

“We have made significant changes to the Group over the last three years.  Our focus now is on accelerating the actions we are taking to drive sustainable organic growth, expand our margins, capitalise on the US opportunity and deliver long-term returns for our shareholders.”

“We remain confident in our ability to deliver on the vast opportunities ahead of us, and look forward to sharing more detail about the changes that we are making alongside our Q3 trading update in November.”

At the beginning of last month, the Entain board provided an update on the HMRC investigation into the company’s legacy Turkish facing business. Where it was announced the company would subject to shareholder approval, allocate a provision of £585 million concerning its ongoing negotiations with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in relation to a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA)

---