Entain Eyes U.K.&I Market Gains as Segment Returns to Growth
U.K. gambling giant Entain experienced an earlier-than-expected return to growth within its core U.K. and Ireland (U.K.&I) segment in 2024 and is eyeing an increased market share in the region as upcoming regulatory headwinds may impact smaller operators.
Entain’s full-year 2024 results show the operator has reversed declining revenues in its core U.K. market and returned it to growth for the first time since 2021.
This was largely driven by double-digit revenue growth (13 percent) in Q4, as the impact of regulatory changes settled and various front- and back-end improvements reaped returns.
Speaking to analysts on March 6, CFO Rob Wood said the return to growth was powered by the group addressing frictions and complexity within its U.K. customers’ journeys.
“Those drivers enabled the U.K. to return to market levels of growth in H2, which in turn helped all of Entain return to market growth,” he told analysts.
When asked whether the operator expected to absorb the impact of upcoming U.K. regulations, like the incoming online slots stakes limits set to launch in April and May, Entain interim CEO Stella David said these would not be a negative for them.
Instead, the group expects these measures to hit tier two and tier three operators and help the operator increase its market share in the UK.
“They do disproportionately well with those higher-value players. But going forward with the new limits, the player experience isn’t as good and there’s definitely going to be some churn in customers who want to play with better product experiences, which I think is a gentle tailwind for ourselves,” David said.
FDJ Rebrands, Reshuffles Exec Team to Reflect New Business Structure
French operator FDJ has unveiled a new-look executive committee and restructured business units. It also announced a company rebrand to reflect its business expanding further outside of France.
La Française des Jeux (FDJ) on March 5 revealed its new executive committee to lead the expanded business, including Kindred Group CEO Nils Andén, who was appointed as chief online betting and gaming officer for the wider group.
This all comes in the wake of the $2.62 billion Kindred acquisition, which was completed in October last year. The new company structure “highlights the digitalization, diversification and globalization of its activities,” FDJ said.
The French lottery and retail sports betting arm will oversee lottery games at points of sale and online and retail sports betting. Online betting and gaming will be responsible for sports and horse betting, poker and online casino gaming.
Meanwhile, international lottery will include Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI), which operates the Irish lottery. Finally, payment and services encompasses everything under the group’s Nirio brand.
It has also been rebranded to FDJ United to “reflect the group’s European scale while paying tribute to its roots, its history and what makes it unique,” the company said.
Austria’s Coalition Government Likely to Continue Online Monopoly
In the new coalition agreement between Austria’s center-right People’s Party (ÖVP), Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the Liberal Party (NEOS), the three parties have signaled plans to retain the licensing status quo in Austria.
The agreement was approved by all three parties on March 2, after the coalition formed in February.
When the sole online casino license – currently held by Austrian Lotteries – expires in 2027, the government’s coalition agreement suggests that just one new license will be granted for the operation of online casinos for an additional 15-year period.
The parties also plan to implement a tougher crackdown on the country’s surging unlicensed operators.
However, the Austrian Betting and Gaming Association (OVWG) believes that the wording of the agreement – which points to a “further development” of the current monopoly – could still leave scope for future reform.
“From our discussions with policymakers, we know that the issue of online gambling licenses had not yet been negotiated at the time the government was formed,” said Simon Priglinger-Simader, vice president of the OVWG.
Gambling Commission Orders AspireGlobal to Pay $1.8 Million
The U.K. Gambling Commission (UKGC) has ordered AG Communications, operating under AspireGlobal, to pay a $1.8 million settlement over a series of social responsibility (SR) and anti-money laundering (AML) failures, recorded between May 2023 and October 2024.
AspireGlobal operates 58 websites under its British licence across bingo, casino and betting. First, the UKGC said the operator did not have the appropriate AML requirements in place and customers were not subject to manual Enhanced Customer Due Diligence (ECDD) checks until certain financial triggers were hit.
In terms of social responsibility, customers were found to be able to play through their loss limits. In total, 176 players deposited a combined $283,971 over the daily loss limit.
The Commission also said AspireGlobal did not have “effective” procedures in place, which in turn placed players at increased risk of harm.
In a statement to iGB, AspireGlobal said of the fine: “Aristocrat (AspireGlobal’s parent), and all of its subsidiaries, takes compliance with our obligations extremely seriously.
“We welcome the regulator’s findings that AG Communications fully cooperated in the review, has put in place a remediation plan and voluntarily agreed to a third-party audit to assess compliance with certain elements of the relevant License Conditions and Codes of Practice. The implementation of the remediation plan is well underway.”
