Yahoo Finance Entain: Ladbrokes owner’s revenues hit by gambling regulations
Ladbrokes owner Entain has said the continued impact of betting regulations caused its net gaming revenue in the UK and Ireland to fall seven per cent in the first three months of the year.
The gambling giant said its work to drive operational improvements as the UK regulatory landscape levels out will “position our brands well for growth into 2025”.
The government introduced its gambling white paper in April last year, including a statutory levy and stake limits on certain types of gaming. A number of those measures are gradually making it onto the statute books.
“Regulatory implementation” bit into the firm’s UK bottom line.
In its first quarter results, Entain posted total group revenue notched up three per cent, helped by growth in international net gaming revenue, its central and eastern European segment and BetMGM, Entain’s North America sports betting division.
According to reports in March, Entain is mulling the sale of several of its international brands in an effort to streamline its operations.
Stella David, interim boss of Entain, said: “Our Q1 performance was in line with our expectations, with growth reflecting both strong performances in many of our markets as well as known challenges in others.
“We are particularly encouraged by the level of customer engagement in the US following a successful Super Bowl and March Madness, as well as our return to growth in Brazil following the changes we implemented.
“Overall, we are pleased with the progress being made against our plan to accelerate Entain’s operational performance. There is still more to do, but the team is fully engaged in delivering operational improvements, product enhancements, as well as greater organisational agility and efficiency.
“We look forward to building on this momentum as we focus on our strategic priorities of organic revenue growth, margin expansion and winning in the U.S. We remain confident that our continued focused execution will drive organic growth into 2025 and beyond,” she added.
Last year, former chief Jette Nygaard-Andersen left Entain after nearly three years in the role, with non-executive director Stella David filling is as interim chief while the search for a replacement is underway.
