The gambling and sports betting operator Entain announced that it is aimed at organizing a retail makeover for its land-based operations in Europe by converting a number of key high-street betting shops into contemporary digital hubs.
The move, which is set to start with the high-street betting outlets operating under the Ladbrokes, Coral and Eurobet brands in Italy and the UK, has been unveiled as part of Entain’s efforts to enhance its customers’ omni-channel experience. The conversion of the retail betting shops to digital hubs will then follow in other European markets where the company’s services are currently being present.
The new interactive store designs have already been trialled by Entain in both Italy and the UK, and the company claims that the experience offered by the new services has been as close to its online customers’ expectations as it could be.
As explained by the gambling giant once known as GVC Holdings, the new shops contain the most recent gaming machines and interactive displays in order to provide the company’s customers with a more dynamic experience that would also be more engaging, not to mention the fact they would be able to make a choice from a vast range of interactive gambling and sports content.
First High-Street Betting Outlets in the UK and Italy Will Be Made Over
Entain has already opened 18 new digital hubs in the UK. The company revealed that it also aims to run an overall of 30 overhauled betting outlets by the end of this year and it has set a goal of having 200 overhauled shops in the UK by the end of 2024.
When it comes to the Italian gambling market, the Isle of Man-based gambling giant revealed plans to transform around 200 high-street betting shops into digital gambling hubs, with the first 30 locations set to start operation by the end of 2021. As the group shared, these sites will also include several Eurobet Cafes that are aimed at offering customers new places to meet and socialise with friends.
The Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Entain, Rob Wood, has shared that with the makeover, the gambling group remains focused on providing its customers with a great local experience. According to Mr Wood, the investment into the digitalisation of the high-street gambling shops would allow the company to offer an even better online omni-channel experience to players.
Apart from all that, the newly-announced investment the gambling giant is to make into the makeover or its European high-street betting shops into digital hubs will hopefully bring a new life into the suffering high-streets and town centres of both the UK and Italy that have been facing the strong negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic and lengthy lockdowns associated with it. According to recent reports of the British Retail Consortium, more than 1 in 7 shops in the UK are currently vacant, with the figure rising to 1 in 5 shops in some parts of the country that have been affected particularly hard by the Covid-19 crisis.
- Author
Olivia Cole
