Entain boss ‘may return’ furlough cash

The £102m furlough cash claimed by UK bookmaker Ladbrokes during the pandemic may be returned by its parent company, Entain.

The CEO of Entain, Jette Nygaard-Andersen (pictured), in an interview with a UK national newspaper, the Daily Telegraph, said that while she would defend retaining the government money, it should be noted that the virus is still around and it is “far from certain how this will play out.”

Entain came under media focus for Ladbrokes claiming the government cash support while, overall, the group was seeing profits reach almost normal levels because of the surge in online gambling.

Nygaard-Andersen said that the cash had helped to keep the 14,000 Ladbrokes staff on full pay, but the board was “keeping the situation under review, but it is just too early.”

In the same interview, Nygaard-Andersen said that she hoped that the upcoming review of the gambling regulations in the UK would “strike a healthy balance,” as she was concerned that tough rules would simply open the doors to unlicensed operators.