Entain Expands Its Operational Markets By Almost A Third In 12 Months
Sports, esports betting, and gaming entertainment group Entain (formerly GVC Holdings) have announced that due to a couple of acquisitions over the course of the past 12 months, they have expanded the number of operational markets that they offer services in by almost a third.
This week, the company acquired two major European operators, Bet.pt and Enlabs AB. This adds to the additions that the company made in Germany and Colombia, meaning now that the company’s products are now available in 27 countries, up from 21 just 12 months previously.
“These new acquisitions are in line with our strategy to expand into new locally regulated markets,” stated CFO and Deputy Chief Executive of Entain, Rob Wood.
“We are committed to operating only in countries which are either already fully regulated or in the process of regulating and [we] will continue to look for opportunities to expand our business internationally.”
Iberian Peninsula & Baltics Move
The deal for Bet.pt increases the Entain groups presence in the Iberian Peninsula still further. The company already operates Bwin in Spain and its Bet.pt acquisition means that it now has access to the fast-growing Portuguese market too.
Predictions suggest that the Portuguese betting market will experience considerable growth of up to 70% by 2023, increasing in value to around €580 million.
Enlabs offers a number of betting services in the Baltics region. It is the most popular betting site in Latvia, the second-largest in Estonia, and one of the top five sites used by residents in Lithuania.
Given the fact that Enlabs has offices across the region, Entain feels the company is well set to continue its growth in the Baltics region and to potentially expand into new territories.
“Portugal and the Baltic region represent highly attractive, locally regulated, and fast-growing gaming markets,’ explained Rob Wood.
“Both these acquisitions further deliver on our growth strategy of expanding across fast-growing international markets.”
The move maintains Entains promise made at the end of 2020 in which it committed to operate only in countries where regulation is already in place to allow sports betting and gaming, or where a country is in the process of regulating to allow it.
Other Significant Moves By Entain
While expanding into new territories is key to the future of the business, Entain have also been working in existing territories to improve the features available to its customers.
For example, in the UK, not only do its sites offer excellent sports betting and casino gaming, many of them are now becoming very popular esports betting sites offering a range of esports bets UK customers are keen to wager on in this developing market.
In addition, the company has been working hard for UK customers on personalized player protection in line with its commitment to safer and more responsible gambling.
This new initiative, known as ARC (Advanced Responsibility and Care) can identify UK customers who are at the greatest risk of financial issues and proactively helps them set a more affordable stake and betting limits and improves affordability checks.
As well as initiatives such as this, and expanding its esports offerings globally, Entain are thought to be ready to move into a number of new markets with the fast-evolving scene in Canada, as well as new regions in Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe all looking to set up regulations to allow sports betting and casino gaming in the near future.
Since: August 10, 2015
