Entain Marks Its First Day With Measures To Deliver On Its New Strategy

- U.S. growth accelerates as BetMGM plans to double its footprint in three months

- Entain to seek licence in Canada and becomes the first global sports betting and gaming operator to gain a licence in Latin America

LONDON, Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global sports betting and gaming group previously known as GVC Holdings plc, marked the first day of trading under its new name with a range of measures to deliver on the vision and direction recently outlined by its CEO Shay Segev. The new measures extend across all the countries in which it operates with brands including bwin, PartyPoker, Ladbrokes, Coral, FoxyBingo and BetMGM.

Last month Entain announced a new strategy to deliver significant growth, driven by expansion in the U.S., growth across its core business, entry into new markets, and to new audiences. Entain, which has a very strong track record of 19 consecutive quarters of double-digit growth in its online business, also committed to lead responsible gaming with a new Sustainability Charter. Under this charter, the business pledged to focus only on regulated markets and use its proprietary technology to raise levels of player protection.

As part of these plans to deliver growth and sustainability, Entain today confirmed strong momentum and market share gains in the U.S. for BetMGM, its joint venture with MGM Resorts. Between October and January BetMGM is adding five new states, doubling its population reach in three months to around 75 million across 12 states. Entain also disclosed that BetMGM's most recent state launch in Tennessee has been its most successful go-live yet with revenues already ahead of those in more established states. Powered by Entain technology, BetMGM expects to be in over 20 states by the end of 2021.

"We are firmly on track to take further leadership in the U.S. as well as in many other newly regulated markets that are now opening around the world." said Segev. "At the heart of our growth strategy is a determination to bring the best player experiences and protections to our industry as technology moves sport and interactive entertainment into a new era. In the U.S., we invested in building the right building blocks for the BetMGM platform to grow and become a long-term leader in the U.S., with superior technology and capabilities, and this is now paying off."

Entain also fleshed out its new Sustainability Charter, allocating money to new projects which will be delivered through its international Foundation around the world. It also gave further detail on its new Advanced Responsibility and Care (ARC) initiative, seeking to revolutionise player experiences and protection through world-leading research, data science and technology. Other new measures include:

Focus on new regulated markets: In line with its stated intention to focus on fully regulated markets, Entain today announced it has become the first global sports betting and gaming operator to gain a licence in Latin America and expects to go live in Colombia over the next month. Colombia is one of the first countries to issue licences in Latin America with others, such as Brazil preparing to follow. Elsewhere in the Americas, Canada is also moving ahead with regulation and Entain confirmed it will be applying for licencing in Canada.

    --  Investing in people and communities: Entain has pledged to invest £100
        million over five years in the Entain Foundation to fund responsible
        gaming initiatives and to support people and communities around the
        world where it operates. Today, it announced a series of international
        commitments: UK: Entain and the three Trident Leagues (The Isthmian,
        Northern Premier and Southern Leagues) are to launch the Trident
        Community Foundation to help fund community-based projects. Grants will
        be open for the 228 football clubs that participate in the
        leagues."Pitching In", Entain's recently launched grassroots sport
        investment programme, is the founding partner of the Trident Community
        Foundation (TCF) and has donated £150,000 to establish the TCF fund,
        for distribution over the rest of the 2020/21 season.US: The Entain
        Foundation is rolling out an extensive state-by-state program with EPIC,
        a charitable organisation which works with former athletes and people
        who have overcome gambling addiction to help educate people on how to
        play safely. The U.S. project announced today with EPIC extends the
        program to a total of 15 Pro Sports teams and over 20 colleges across
        the country, including Harvard University, University of Oregon, and the
        Mid-American Conference. Entain and EPIC plan to work together to add
        additional professional sports leagues and colleges across the US during
        2021. Germany: The Entain Foundation will continue existing sports
        integrity projects in Germany and receive early funds to initiate
        further activities around responsible gaming.Australia:  The Foundation
        has announced initial new projects to advance responsible gaming with
        Relationships Australia, a community-based not for profit organisation
        which provides a range of counselling and support services to problem
        gamblers and their families. The new funding will be used to support a
        social media campaign to reach vulnerable audiences and to raise
        awareness of the signs of gambling addiction.

    --  Advanced Responsibility and Care (ARC): Under this recently announced
        programme, Entain will combine its technology with research and insight
        from leading psychologists and Harvard to develop innovative experiences
        and safeguards for a new era in interactive sport and entertainment. To
        this end, Entain today announced that:Dr. Michael Auer, a leading
        academic and member of the scientific community at the University of
        Hohenheim in Germany, specialising in behavioural psychology and
        addiction, will join Entain alongside Professor Mark Griffiths,
        Distinguished Professor of Behavioral Addiction and Psychology at
        Nottingham Trent University. They will evaluate and advise on
        improvements to Entain's guidelines and processes in relation to
        responsible gaming.

For more information see the Group's website: www.entaingroup.com

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SOURCE Entain Plc