Entain accelerates plans to exit unregulated markets
One of the biggest global sports betting and iGaming entities, Entain, has decided to expedite its plan of withdrawal from several gambling markets that are not regulated. A little over two years ago, the Isle of Man-based operator announced its roadmap to growth and sustainability. This plan also included a commitment to generating revenue exclusively from regulated gambling markets across the world by the end of 2023.
Entain says it doesn’t expect a significant blow to revenue with this move. ©regularguy.eth/Unsplash
Licensed in more than 30 countries, the operator is also currently present in a few nations where the gambling markets are not yet regulated. Some countries have laid down plans to introduce a domestic regulator, while others have not displayed intentions of doing that. Entain has accelerated its withdrawal plan from countries with no intention of establishing gambling authorities to regulate the markets in their own nations. As for the nations that intend to establish a domestic regulator, Entain will stick around. By the end of this year, the operator intends on roping in revenue exclusively from regulated gambling markets.
Won’t be a blow to business, says Entain
Exiting from non-regulated markets is just one step of Entain’s four-step sustainability strategy. The operator will continue to focus on the other three steps, which include focusing on responsible gambling, focusing on governance standards, and investing in local communities. The growth strategy is fairly straightforward, with the operator intending to expand its operations by entering new markets that are regulated and also focusing on the markets it is already in. The Isle of Man-based operator intends to be the leading iGaming operator in the United States of America with its subsidiary BetMGM. Entain is already strong as the estimated market share of states with BetMGM is 18%.
Due to its strong performance in the regulated markets of over 30 countries, the exit from a few unregulated markets is not expected to have a huge impact on the entity’s net gaming revenue and EBITDA. According to the operator, it will have a relatively small or no effect at all on the current revenue that is being reeled in. In addition to its resolute presence in the US, Entain expanded across the European continent in 2022. The operator entered the German and Dutch gambling markets. Entain was granted five gambling licenses in Germany before the operator completed the acquisition of BetCity and re-entered the regulated gambling market of the Netherlands.
The chairman of Entain, Barry Gibson, explained why they have decided to withdraw from countries that had no intention of establishing a domestic gambling authority to regulate online gambling activity.
“As part of the profound and far-reaching transformation programme that Entain has undergone in the last few years, we took the decision in 2020 to only operate in nationally regulated markets. Today’s announcement is therefore a continuation of that strategy, and should be taken as a clear demonstration of Entain’s commitment to the highest standards of corporate responsibility, governance, sustainability, and player safety. We stated at the outset that we would exit any market that wasn’t able to regulate at sufficient pace or to the right standards, and we have acted decisively to do so. We are proud to be leading our industry as the only global operator taking this approach of solely operating in markets where there is domestic licensing.”
Other operators and their commitments
Entain intends to pull out of unregulated markets by the end of this year to bring its revenue from unregulated gambling markets down to zero. Another major gambling operator is on its path to zero. Swedish iGaming entity, Kindred, intends to reduce and bring the revenue reeled in from problematic gambling down to zero by the end of this year. Despite the departure of the operator’s Head of Responsible Gaming and Research, Kindred stays firm on its goal and intends to achieve it in the future.
Renowned lottery operator Allwyn also has a different commitment in place, but that does not have to be fulfilled at the end of this year. The Switzerland-based operator has put a green pledge in place as it aims to eliminate its carbon emissions entirely by 2030 and become the first net zero lottery operator in the world. All commitments are in place, and it will be interesting to see how many are fulfilled in the promised period.
