Entain warns of regulatory hit to profits in 2024

Full-year results from sports betting and gaming group Entain were in line with expectations, with underlying earnings hitting the £1bn mark and record-high online customers, though it warned of the significant impact from regulatory changes which will dampen profits in 2024.

The Ladbrokes, BetMGM and Gala Bingo owner reported group EBITDA of £1.01bn for 2023, up 1% on the previous year. Net gaming revenues rose 11% to £4.83bn, helped by online active customers rising 23% and BetMGM – in which it owns 50% – seeing a 36% jump in revenues.

However, the company warned that new stake caps on online slot games in the UK, and a potential agreement on uniform safer gambling measures across the market, could result in "continued player disruption over the short term".

Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, regulator KSA recently proposed tighter deposit limits from the second quarter of 2024 which also have the potential to impact profits.

"As a result, we expect that, in aggregate, these dynamics could reduce FY24 EBITDA by approximately £40m," the company said.

"2023 was a period of necessary, but ultimately positive, transition for Entain," said chair Barry Gibson, following the exit of Jette Nygaard-Andersen in December along with the resolution to the HMRC investigation into Entain's legacy Turkish facing business, which was sold in 2017.

"We have significantly strengthened the quality of our revenue base, enhanced our board, and delivered a resolution to a critical, historic, regulatory issue," Gibson said.