British gambling and sports betting giant Entain Plc revealed some plans to develop products for the metaverse, with the investment in the company’s new innovation centre estimated at up to £100 million.
At the time when it made the announcement, the gambling company, which currently owns the Ladbrokes and Coral sports betting brands and partypoker and bwin online gambling and poker brands, revealed that the innovation hub is set to be called Ennovate.
Entain also shared that an investment worth about £40 million pounds would be earmarked for the UK, with the first Ennovate’s lab set to launch in the spring in London’s Farringdon area. The innovation hub Ennovate will join forces with BT and Verizon that would provide it with access to 5G. Entain also plans to partner with Theta Labs to roll out a non-fungible token (NFT) platform especially for customers of its partypoker brand. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) applications will be further developed by Ennovate.
In its statement posted at the beginning of the week, Entain noted that its customers expect better experiences, as well as a bigger variety of content, options for further customisation and social interaction. The gambling company’s boss Jette Nygaard-Andersen shared that it is willing to pioneer innovations in gaming, sport and interactive entertainment for the metaverse.
Entain Shares Aspirations to Become Global Leader in Innovative Entertainment
The metaverse provides people with the opportunity to interact in online virtual worlds using headsets. Lately, it has become the latest innovation in business and technology, with tech giants such as Microsoft and Facebook having already unveiled plans to create special products for the metaverse.
As the British gambling giant has noted, the investment in its Ennovate innovation hub will provide it with the chance to investigate emerging areas and markets, not to mention that it will be able to work in collaboration with partners in the UK, Europe and globally.
Currently, Entain’s portfolio consists of a variety of brands. The company owns the UK gambling and sports betting brands Ladbrokes and Coral, as well as the Austrian betting brand bwin, with operating licences held in no less than 27 countries around the world. Last January, Entain and its American partner MGM Resorts International invested approximately $450 million in their US-facing sports betting app BetMGM where they share equal ownership.
As mentioned above, the latest announcement of the British gambling giant highlighted Entain’s desire to turn into a global leader in innovative entertainment.
To support Ennovate, the company plans to establish a lab in Charterhouse Square, Farrington, London, in close proximity to the local headquarters of Snapchat and TikTok.
The London lab is set to feature an experience zone, where partners, investors, employees and customers would be able to test developed immersive experiences. They will also be able to coordinate work on various products developed especially for the metaverse. Incubator and accelerator programs will be available as additional features of the institution. Entain further revealed that it intends to invite startups that specialise in the metaverse, an immersive experience and interactive entertainment.
- Author
Olivia Cole
