Entain, a global sports betting and gaming group, announced its performance for the first quarter of the year Wednesday, noting growth in net gaming revenue and positive engagement during the Super Bowl and March Madness.
Total net gaming revenue for the company jumped 6% year-over-year. Entain’s 50% stake in BetMGM delivered a 2% year-over-year increase in net gaming revenue during Q1, while maintaining a 14% market share across the U.S. and Ontario, good for third place behind FanDuel and DraftKings. Online net gaming revenue grew 9%, as well.
“In the U.S., BetMGM continues to perform in line with our expectations as we focus on building the momentum by our improving offering and product capabilities,” Interim CEO Stella David said on the company’s earnings call.
She also noted that BetMGM’s Q1 performance reflects Entain’s continued strength in iGaming, and that the company remains strategically aligned with the other 50% owner, MGM.
“We are aligned with MGM that 2024 is a year of investment for BetMGM, investing in marketing and building momentum behind our improved player experience with more U.S. tailored products and new game launches,” David said.
The company continued its iGaming momentum to begin 2024.
“March was our best ever month and five of our last six weeks rank in the top seven iGaming weeks ever,” said Rob Wood, Entain’s CFO and deputy CEO.
BetMGM momentum
David and Wood both spoke confidently about what’s in store for BetMGM this year, and how 2024’s investments can help drive further growth into 2025 and beyond.
BetMGM is gearing up to launch single-account, single-wallet features in Nevada to better engage the 13 million customer nights the MGM resorts capture each year.
“The opportunity as we get our products and our app sorted is very fundamental that nobody else can replicate," said David. "And the idea that we have these seamless journeys where the customer goes to Nevada, they play, they use our app, they go back to wherever they live.”
Wood also cited BetMGM’s partnership with X, which is still in its early stages, as a primer for further growth in the sports betting and iGaming sector this year.
International affairs
David called the UK and Brazil “must-win markets,” but the company’s progress in each are heading in different directions.
The UK was said to be “in flux for Entain” with online net gaming revenue down 9% in Q1, primarily due to frictions created by new regulatory changes. David said the company is “looking forward to a levelling of a regulatory playing field across the UK market in the coming months.”
Entain is “starting to bear fruit” from its actions in Brazil, according to David, delivering positive net gaming revenue in the first quarter there. Brazil returned to nearly double-digit year-over-year growth, according to Wood, so while it’s still early in this budding market, the team is encouraged by the progress so far.
Wood called out the strong performance of Entain’s operations in Georgia, Belgium, the Baltics, Austria, Spain, and Canada as all segments delivering growth for the company.
