Jette Nygaard-Andersen, CEO of U.K. sports betting giant Entain, says she “knows what it takes to win,” and “the company or the operator with the best products for the customers will also be No. 1 in the market.”
“It’s been a busy year” for the company, which just completed its 22nd quarter of double-digit online growth and recently fended off attempted takeovers by MGM and DraftKings. “We are a popular company, I recognize that,” the CEO said.
The U.K. market remains a cash cow for Entain, which has 2,754 betting shops in the country. But it’s making inroads in the U.S. through its joint venture with MGM Resorts, creator of BetMGM.
“Remember, BetMGM is really powered by Entain. BetMGM runs on the Entain technology, I think almost 40 percent of people associated with running BetMGM, they’re actually Entain people. How is it going to look in the future? I am not going to speculate on that.”
The partnership between Entain and MGM Resorts has paid off, as BetMGM reached No. 2 in market share in the U.S. Each company owns 50 percent of the venture. BetMGM reported FY21 net revenue of $850 million, topping an estimate of $834 million. Based on the early results from mobile betting in New York, BetMGM produced the best first day launch ever.
Live in 19 states, BetMGM should reach 40 percent of the adult population with Illinois and Louisiana coming on board in the coming months. Later this year, BetMGM expects to be live in Ontario and Puerto Rico. The parent companies, MGM and Entain plans to invest $450 million in 2022.
During an investor’s call on January 19, BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt said that he expected to reach profitability in 2023, “based on what I can see today.”
But Greenblatt hedged a bit.
“Let’s not lose sight of our reality,” Greenblatt said. “We are not selling toothpaste in a very mature market in a price stable environment. That’s not this business. So, while we cannot commit as we stand here today to profitability for the full year 2023, at this state.”
Nygaard-Andersen says she’s confident that Entain will eventually topple rival Flutter Entertainment. To drive growth, it’s committed to the creation of a £100 million London-based “innovation lab” to develop software and other interactive gaming technologies. Entain is no longer a bookmaker, the CEO pointed out. “We’re an entertainment company.”
In related news, Nygaard-Andersen recently told the London Telegraph the company may be willing to return £102 million (US$138.6 million) of government-issued furlough money it accepted during the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The funds helped the company keep paying its staff of 14,000, Nygaard-Andersen said. “During the pandemic and the lockdown, we’ve been able to support our colleagues and pay them 100 percent of their pay. The virus is still here, and although improving, it’s still far from certain how this will play out. The board is keeping and will continue to keep the situation under review, but it’s just too early” to decide if it will refund the money.
