Entain cuts online revenue guidance for the year as cost of living hits internet betting

Self-service betting terminals in bookmakers’ shops are performing better than online gambling (Entain)

Entain, the owner of bookmakers Ladbrokes and Coral, has reduced part of its guidance for the financial year as punters cut back on online gambling with inflation eating away at consumers’ spending power.

The company said it no longer expected net revenue growth from its online operations for the year, having previously forecast a rise the mid-to-high single digits. Its shares fell 9.5 per cent to 1031p in morning trade, making it the biggest single faller on London’s FTSE 100 stock index.

There was a better showing at its betting shops, where retail trading surpassed expectations, helping volumes in the second quarter move “ahead of pre-Covid levels, driven by gaming and self-service betting terminals”.

Jette Nygaard-Andersen, Entain’s chief executive, said the “macro-economic outlook is uncertain”, but that the “underlying performance of our business remains strong.”

Entain’s online brands include Foxy Bingo, Gala and Ninja Casino. It has a 50/50 joint venture with MGM Resorts International to run BetMGM in the US, a brand it will soon make available on Carnival cruise ships. The company also said it expected its acquisition the Dutch company BetCity to complete in the second half of the year, helping it “deliver a strategic growth opportunity” in a “newly regulated market.”