Entain makes Brazil and UK central to turnaround plans
Speaking during the operator’s interim results presentation today (8 August), Entain chief commercial officer and president Sameer Deen said winning in the two territories was necessary for the group to drive organic growth going forward.
CEO Stella David hailed the first half as evidence of the work to improve operational performance bearing fruit, with revenue up 6% on a proforma basis. Alongside the Central and Eastern European region, Brazil was a key driver of growth in the six months to 30 June.
After net gaming revenue increased 9% in Brazil during Q1, it accelerated in Q2, rising 48% year-on-year. Entain expects this positive momentum to continue into H2, with the legal betting and igaming market opening from 1 January 2025.
This showed the impact of the operational transformation, Deen said, with focus now turning to the UK.
UK and Irish NGR fell 6% to £1bn, which the operator blamed on regulatory changes in the prior year. Gaming NGR dropped 7% to £611.2m, while sports betting was also down 5% to £393.5m, on the back of a 10% drop in player stakes.
“We are taking the same operational turnaround approach in the UK as we did in Brazil and, while the UK is earlier in its transformational journey, we are seeing encouraging green shoots,” Deen told analysts.
Brazil is Entain’s “fastest growing market”
Brazil was its fastest growing market, while the UK represented its largest, Deen explained.
First time depositors (FTDs) in Brazil trended above 2022 and 2023 during the first half of 2024 thanks to improved performance marketing investment and a revived brand experience for Sportingbet in Brazil.
Payments localisation aided growth. The launch of instant payments through Pix resulted in more than a million deposits a week after launching in Brazil.
Satty Bhens, chief product officer at Entain, said localisation was critical for performance in markets like Brazil and Entain had doubled its staff count across localisation teams.
Four times the number of app improvements will be implemented in 2024, compared to the previous year, he noted, with the transition to a regulated market “top of mind” for the business, Deen added.
Entain is also making the necessary technical and regulatory changes to meet Brazil’s open betting market requirements, in preparation for the January 2025 launch. Sportingbet applied for its licence in July meaning that, if approved, it will be among the first wave of licensees.
Casual players, new products and LadBucks to drive UK recovery
Entain’s UK and Irish business will return to growth by the end of the year, in part through targeting recreational customers across its brands.
Simplifying core customer journeys in the UK is a key focus, Bhens said, alongside improving site speed and further development of its free-to-play rewards and engagement programme LadBucks. LadBucks has driven conversion rates for real money activities.
A new in-house bet builder offering will be launched ahead of the upcoming English Premier League season, as well as app updates to improve loading speeds for players.
“We are seeing green shoots of progress thanks to the hard work of our new UK leadership team,” Deen said.
Entain’s UK leadership team was separated out from a wider European management structure earlier in the year. By dropping a number of European markets from the team’s remit, leadership can focus its full attention on the UK and Ireland.
Bhens said that a single team across the European businesses had been “too much and the team was now entirely dedicated to simplifying the UK product and marketing experience”. Former retail boss Andy Hicks heads up this team, with former William Hill director Charlotte Emery brought on as CMO in June.