Earlier this week, the British gambling and sports betting company Entain revealed that it will accelerate its plans to withdraw its services from a few unregulated markets by the end of 2023. The company’s decision has been made as part of the operator’s strategy to fully focus on its nationally regulated markets.
Entain, once known as GVC Holdings, which currently owns brick-and-mortar betting shops operating under the Ladbrokes and Coral brands, as well as a number of popular online gambling brands such as partypoker and bwin, explained that it expects the unregulated market exodus to only mildly affect its core profit and net gaming revenue.
The decision of the company has been predetermined, considering the fact that a few years ago Entain indicated that it was willing to primarily focus on its operations in regulated markets. The operator has been working on that goal and has now kicked off plans to make these aspirations a reality by the end of 2023.
The fact that gambling has not been legally permitted in various markets around the world and there was not much progress on the matter in some of them, has made the sector volatile, which in its turn has left the operators in a vulnerable position because they have been unable to determine what will happen in the future.
Almost All Operations of Entain Currently in Regulated and Established Markets around the Globe
Entain has been one of the operators who have been waiting to see what legislative and regulatory action would some Governments take but it is no longer willing to wait for something to just happen. The company has explained that it wants to have 100% of its revenue generated from regulated gambling markets by the end of 2023 and it will do whatever it takes to do so.
In a report regarding its corporate governance in 2022, Entain revealed that it had been very close to its goal because, at the end of the previous year, 99% of its operations were in regulated and established markets.
That is exactly the reason why it revealed that it will accelerate its aspirations of retaining its position as the leading corporate citizen in the global gambling industry, which is why it has decided to leave a number of unregulated markets where it no longer recognises a path to domestic regulation. At the same time, Entain did not provide a list of the markets it might exit. With more than 23 brands currently on its portfolio, it has a massive presence across the world and making a premature announcement about an upcoming exit of a certain market could only result in unwanted revenue declines.
Some market experts suspect that Brazil would be one of the markets that Entain is set to leave because the country’s path toward full authorization of gambling has remained uncertain over the past few years. However, some analysts believe there is still a chance for the Brazilian Government to figure out a way to advance an adequate gambling law at some point by the end of the year.
Currently, the British gambling and sports betting operator holds a leading position in corporate citizenship, which remains one of the major pillars on which its operations are based.
- Author
Olivia Cole
