Entain accelerates plans to exit unregulated markets

Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain said on Wednesday that it was accelerating plans to exit unregulated markets "where it no longer sees a path to domestic regulation".

The company, which also owns bwin, PartyPoker and Sportingbet, announced in November of last year a commitment that 100% of its revenue would come from markets that are nationally regulated by the end of 2023.

"From today, the group will accelerate this process by exiting its few remaining markets where there is no clear path to market liberalisation via domestic regulation," it said. "The group is now licensed in more than 30 countries and will remain in only a small number of markets where it expects changes in regulation will enable it to obtain domestic licenses in due course."

With the exception of these markets, 100% of Entain’s revenue will now be from domestically regulated markets where it is licensed. The net gaming revenue and EBITDA impact from these closures is relatively small and will have no effect on current expectations, it said.

Chair Barry Gibson said: "As part of the profound and far-reaching transformation programme that Entain has undergone in the last few years, we took the decision in 2020 to only operate in nationally regulated markets.

"Today's announcement is therefore a continuation of that strategy, and should be taken as a clear demonstration of Entain's commitment to the highest standards of corporate responsibility, governance, sustainability, and player safety. We stated at the outset that we would exit any market that wasn't able to regulate at sufficient pace or to the right standards, and we have acted decisively to do so."