Entain experiences third-quarter slowdown in online revenue growth

British land-based and online sportsbook operator Entain has reportedly chalked up an increase of 4% year-on-year in third-quarter net revenues despite experiencing a comparative slowdown in online receipts.

According to a report from the Financial Times newspaper, the London-listed behemoth responsible for a slew of online casino and sportsbetting domains including Ladbrokes.com, Bwin.com, Coral.co.uk and Sportingbet.com saw its iGaming revenues for the three months to the end of September rise by over 10% year-on-year. The source detailed that this represented a 23rd consecutive quarter of such growth but was far below the analogous 26% swell experienced during the same period in 2020 when punters were obliged to play from home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Certification check:

Previously known as GVC Holdings until undergoing a December of 2020 name-change, Entain reportedly used an official press release to explain that its most recent third-quarter results had been furthermore negatively impacted by a new online casino games licensing regime in Germany. The company purportedly proclaimed that its business had nevertheless ‘delivered a strong performance’ across all of the world’s ‘major markets’ with particular success in Brazil and Australia.

American advance:

In the United States where the online and retail sportsbetting sector is growing following the revocation of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018 and Entain reportedly asserted that it now holds a 23% market share via operations in 16 jurisdictions including New Jersey, Michigan and Colorado.

British bounce-back:

Jette Nygaard-Andersen (pictured) serves as the Chief Executive Officer for Entain and she reportedly disclosed that revenues from her firm’s Ladbrokes and Coral-branded chain of high street bookmakers in the United Kingdom had posted a 1% expansion in net revenues owing to a slow post-coronavirus escalation in footfall. She therefore purportedly divulged that the operator is to maintain its full-year forecast for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of between £850 million ($1.15 billion) and £900 million ($1.22 billion).

Read a statement from Nygaard-Andersen…

“These results demonstrate Entain’s continuing ability to deliver sustainable, consistent and diversified growth. Our powerful platform provides customers with great products and experiences, which enable us to grow ahead of our markets as demonstrated by 23 consecutive quarters of double-digit online growth. By offering customers ever more engaging products while leveraging our scale and technology, we will drive the flywheel effects of secular growth dynamics that can triple the size of our business. As a result, we remain very confident in Entain’s future prospects.”

Tie-up tension:

Isle of Man-based Entain is reportedly the subject of an around $20 billion cash-and-stock takeover proposal from American online sportsbook operator DraftKings Incorporated. The buyer purportedly has until next Tuesday to finalize its acquisition but is still laboring to secure a deal with MGM Resorts International, which has joint ownership of the target’s BetMGM sportsbetting service.