SPORTS BETTING
UK – Entain continues exit strategies as it looks to operate 100 per cent in regulated markets
By Phil - 8 January 2024
London-based betting giant Entain has left over 140 grey markets as it looks to address a ‘legacy’ issue of operating in markets without betting regulation and overhaul its compliance.
Entain confirmed it had now ‘exited approximately 140 markets where there was no clear path to regulation.’ The list includes several non-entities in the betting world such as Antarctica, Vatican City, Pitcairn Islands, the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, and the United States Minor Outlying Islands.
The exit strategies follow Entain having to pay a £615m penalty as a deferred prosecution agreement over historic operations in Turkey. The move, which was first announced in November 2020, saw Entain leave more than 100 markets on December 17 2020, followed by bigger, unregulated markets such as Argentina, Russia and Ukraine between 2021 formalised
Entain’s Chair Barry Gibson said: This legacy issue pertains to a business divested by a past management team six years prior. The company has undergone significant changes since then, and the DPA process has underscored the profound evolution from the GVC of the past to today’s Entain. We closed 140 markets where revenues ranged from significant to de-minimis at the time of exit, but where customers could bet with us. We remain focused on advancing our operations exclusively within regulated markets and are acknowledged as a leading, responsible entity with unparalleled corporate governance across our business.”
Greg Johnson, an analyst at Shore Capital, said: “I struggle to see why it’s a great achievement to move out of markets you either weren’t ever really in or shouldn’t have been in the first place.”
