Entain’s diversified portfolio and geographic footprint position the sports betting and gaming group well for long-term growth, according to a recent internal strategic review.
The review was conducted by the Board’s Capital Allocation Committee, centered on evaluating its portfolio of strategic assets, brands, capabilities, geographic footprint positions, and past key development steps.
The findings highlight significant opportunities for organic revenue growth, margin expansion, and success in the US market, while noting that the company’s financial position has been bolstered by recent credit facility extensions and loan repricing.
Additionally, Entain plans to explore strategic alternatives for its non-core asset, Crystalbet, in Georgia.
‘There are significant opportunities for the Group to focus on organic revenue growth, margin expansion, and success in the US market. Additionally, Entain’s balance sheet and leverage position have been strengthened by the recent extension of its revolving credit facility and term loan repricing and add-ons,’ the company says in the report.
In recent preliminary results, the company stated it was able to perform in line with expectations during the first quarter of the year, after reporting a 3 percent year-on-year rise in revenue, despite declines within the UK and Ireland.
The internal review also delved into developments in key markets and the operational progress made towards the company’s strategic objectives.
The sports betting group underlined that Brazil returned to strong double-digit revenue growth in the second quarter, driven by enhanced customer acquisition and retention efforts, while the regulatory landscape in the UK is stabilizing with the new voluntary industry code on customer safer gambling checks and industry-wide slots limits coming into effect in September, 2023.
‘These measures, along with an improved customer offering, support expectations of growth resuming later this year,’ the company added.
This month Entain, which co-owns BetMGM with MGM Resorts, was also approved for a license by the Nevada Gaming Control (NGC) Board.
Formerly known as GVC Holdings, Entain had previously operated in Nevada under limited licenses due to concerns by the NGC over its presence in unregulated markets across the world.
These concerns led to a new business plan, launching an effort to exit 140 unregulated markets, including Asian markets.
In a recent interview for AGB, Michael Charlton, Asia Pacific Director for Entain, commented that the group would be happy to move back into the markets it had stepped away from if Asian gaming jurisdictions upped their regulatory game.
In its review, the group indicated that the product roadmap for BetMGM is advancing well, with new MLB and NBA sports betting markets recently launched.
Barry Gibson, Chairman of Entain, expressed the company still had “more work to do” to improve its operational performance, but defended that its progress has been in line with its strategy.
Entain’s board plans to provide further updates on its progress during the interim results announcement in August.
