Entain LON: ENT reported a first-quarter trading update that executives said kept the group “in line with expectations,” while highlighting accelerating underlying volume growth and continued momentum across several core markets.
CEO Stella David said the company’s “diverse and globally scaled portfolio of podium positions” continues to support “consistent and sustainable growth,” even as many markets experienced “particularly customer-friendly sports results” that weighed on sports margins. She added that the group exited 2025 with strong momentum and that this has “continued so far this year.”
Q1 performance: steady NGR, faster volume growth
For the quarter, Entain said group net gaming revenue (NGR) rose 3%, with online NGR up 5%. David stressed that volumes provided a clearer picture of underlying performance in a quarter impacted by sports outcomes, noting group volumes were up 8% and online volumes rose 10%. She said Q1 marked the group’s eighth consecutive quarter of online growth.
Newly joined executive Mike Snape (speaking on his first Entain update) echoed that view, noting that the company began 2026 with momentum that “not only continu[ed], but accelerat[ed] into Q1.” Snape also said the company has begun including volume growth in its release because it “gives the cleanest picture of underlying performance, removing some of that noise from sports margins.”
Snape broke out the main drivers in Q1:
- Online NGR rose 5%, with volumes up 10%.
- Customer-friendly results pushed sports NGR down 1%, offset by iGaming strength, with iGaming up 9%.
- Retail performance saw softer sports margins but was supported by wager growth and gaming, contributing to overall retail volume growth of 3%.
UK strength and focus on navigating higher taxes
David called the U.K. “once again, a standout performer,” saying Entain expected to have gained share in both online and retail. She argued this positions the company to better withstand “the draconian tax increases” than competitors. David also highlighted the company’s tax contribution, saying Entain paid GBP 574 million in U.K. taxes in 2025, while “the growing black market pays zero tax,” adding that the company is lobbying government to curb “the advertising and promotion of these unlicensed sites.”
Snape said the U.K. and Ireland delivered “another fantastic result,” with total NGR up 6% and online NGR up 13%, despite lapping a “23% comparator” from the prior year. Retail was described as flat on a like-for-like basis, with customers continuing to engage with gaming and sports terminals.
On a question about early impacts from the April tax increase, David said it was “really too early to say,” but emphasized that Entain had been increasing share ahead of the changes and sees further opportunity, particularly given a “long tail” of smaller regulated operators. Snape added that Entain has “absolutely not” pulled back on growth-driving investment in the U.K., despite expecting other operators might do so given the severity of the tax changes.
David also pointed to product and journey improvements as part of the U.K. share gains, citing “better bet builder” features in football and horse racing and a “new Ladbrokes experience” planned ahead of the World Cup.
International markets: Australia rebound, mixed impact from sports margins
David said Australia’s recovery “continued and is now back to meaningful year-on-year growth,” which she attributed to a “disciplined and reinvigorated approach” under new management. Snape reported Australia was up 12%, which he said was the first double-digit NGR growth quarter since 2022.
Asked whether Australia’s performance was driven by the market or by share gains, David said the company believed it was “absolutely driven by market share gains.” She said the business has historically been strong in racing and is expanding focus to sports more broadly.
In other markets, David said Spain, Canada, Greece, Georgia, and New Zealand continued to deliver double-digit NGR growth. Snape said international online NGR was up 2%, with gaming up 8%, but noted a 1.4 percentage point year-on-year sports margin headwind due to tough margin comparisons and customer-friendly results, particularly in February. He said the adverse sports result impact was most pronounced in Brazil and Italy, though he highlighted “pleasing volume growth” in those markets, including double-digit volume growth in Italy.
On Brazil, David said Q1 sports margins were “very poor” but reiterated that “volume’s been up,” calling that “good news,” while also describing the sports margin performance as among the worst seen in the short term.
Snape also discussed the Entain CEE segment, describing it as “a story of sports results offsetting healthy volumes in Croatia,” where a -7.1 percentage point sports margin drag weighed on NGR growth. He said Poland benefited from migration to the CEE sportsbook and an app revamp.
US and BetMGM: executing for profitable growth
David described the U.S. as “steadier than anticipated,” and referred to prior comments from Adam earlier in the week, stating that BetMGM continues to execute its plan for profitable growth while remaining “rational in a noisy market.” She said the disciplined approach supports confidence in delivering EBITDA within guidance, “albeit at the lower end,” despite softer top-line growth.
World Cup: modest revenue uplift, bigger recruitment opportunity
Management repeatedly framed the upcoming World Cup (starting in June and extending into July) as a key commercial moment, but not a transformative earnings driver. Responding to an analyst question, David said the World Cup was likely worth “about 1% or something like that across the year” as an upside, while cautioning that margins could be volatile, particularly early in the tournament.
David said the event is more valuable as a customer acquisition and recruitment driver, particularly in time-zone-aligned markets and those with strong engagement such as Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand.
On retention and marketing efficiency, David said Entain uses detailed performance marketing analytics—led largely by the 365 Scores team—to evaluate “pay-ins, paybacks” and recruitment efficiency. Snape added that the discipline was among the most impressive aspects he had seen, emphasizing that the company aims not to “waste money” targeting customers who only bet during a tournament and then lapse. David said Entain would not “plaster” advertising broadly because it remains focused on payback for “every pound” spent.
Guidance reiterated; cash and cost discipline emphasized
David said Entain is reiterating full-year guidance and remains confident in generating over GBP 500 million of cash annually from 2028. She said Q2 had started strongly and the business is “getting sharper every day” as it navigates U.K. tax increases.
Snape said that while the front end of the business is “delivering,” Entain sees “significant potential to optimize our cost base” to improve operational leverage and accelerate investment behind growth opportunities. He also said converting growth into cash is a core priority, alongside “deleveraging, and balance sheet flexibility,” signaling that capital investment and other actions will reflect that focus.
Entain executives said they plan to provide additional detail on priorities and plans at the company’s interim results in the summer.
About Entain LON: ENT
Entain plc LSE: ENT is a FTSE100 company and is one of the world's largest sports betting and gaming groups, operating both online and in the retail sector. The Group owns a comprehensive portfolio of established brands; Sports brands include BetCity, bwin, Coral, Crystalbet, Eurobet, Ladbrokes, Neds, Sportingbet, Sports Interaction, STS, SuperSport and TAB NZ; Gaming brands include Foxy Bingo, Gala, GiocoDigitale, Ninja Casino, Optibet, Partypoker and PartyCasino. The Group owns proprietary technology across all its core product verticals and in addition to its B2C operations provides services to a number of third-party customers on a B2B basis.
The Group has a 50/50 joint venture, BetMGM, a leader in sports betting and iGaming in the US.
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