17 April 2024

Entain plc

("Entain" or the "Group")

Group performance in line with expectations

Good progress on operational improvements

Entain plc (LSE: ENT), the global sports betting and gaming group, today reports trading for the period from
1 January to 31 March 2024 ("Q1").

Key Highlights:

·      We continue to make good progress improving the operational performance of the business to drive organic revenue growth

·      Group Q1 performance in line with our expectations

o  Total Group Net Gaming Revenue ("NGR"), including 50% share of BetMGM¹, up +6%cc², -3%cc² on a proforma³ basis

o  Group proforma Online NGR (excl US) -2%cc², supported by 11% proforma³ growth in active customers

·      UK & Ireland NGR was down -7%cc², (Online -9%cc², Retail -6%cc²) as we continue to experience the effects of our regulatory implementation

o  Our actions that are driving operational improvements together with the levelling of the UK regulatory landscape will position our brands well for growth into 2025

·      International⁴ NGR was up +8%cc², -2%cc² on a proforma³ basis (Online -1%cc², Retail -8%cc²)

o  Positive performance across many of our markets, partly offset by expected softness in Australia, Netherlands and Germany 

o  Encouraging return to good year on year growth in Brazil, driven by ongoing operational improvements initiated in 2023

o  In spite of strong volume growth, NGR in Italy was impacted by customer-friendly sports margins

·      Entain CEE⁵ continued to perform well with NGR up +11%cc² (Online +11%cc², Retail +9%cc²) on a proforma³ basis with SuperSport in Croatia performing particularly strongly

·      BetMGM delivered Q1 NGR¹ up +2% year on year with a 14%⁶ market share in sports betting and iGaming in the markets where it operates

o  Continuing iGaming strength offset by customer-friendly win margins across online and retail sportsbooks; adjusting for impact of sports margin estimated Q1 NGR¹ would have been high single digit positive

o  Strong growth in customer acquisition, supported by successful Super Bowl and March Madness engagement and improving app and product capabilities

o  With an enhanced player experience and exciting pipeline ahead, including more Angstrom powered offerings, BetMGM is well positioned to invest for future growth

Stella David, Interim CEO of Entain, commented:

"Our Q1 performance was in line with our expectations, with growth reflecting both strong performances in many of our markets as well as known challenges in others. We are particularly encouraged by the level of customer engagement in the US following a successful Super Bowl and March Madness, as well as our return to growth in Brazil following the changes we implemented.

Overall, we are pleased with the progress being made against our plan to accelerate Entain's operational performance. There is still more to do, but the team is fully engaged in delivering operational improvements, product enhancements, as well as greater organisational agility and efficiency. We look forward to building on this momentum as we focus on our strategic priorities of organic revenue growth, margin expansion and winning in the U.S. We remain confident that our continued focused execution will drive organic growth into 2025 and beyond."

Q1 2024 Trading performance:

2023 quarterly performance presented in alignment with the new segmental reporting structure, is available on our website: https://entaingroup.com/investor-relations/results-centre/

Notes

(1)   BetMGM revenues comprise of sports (Online and Retail) and iGaming revenues

(2)   Growth on a constant currency basis is calculated by translating both current and prior year performance at the 2024 exchange rates

(3)   Proforma references include all 2023 acquisitions as if they had been part of the Group since 1 January 2023

(4)   International segment comprises of all other countries outside the UK & Ireland, Entain CEE and US reporting segments, including Australia, Italy, Brazil, Netherlands, New Zealand, Georgia and Germany

(5)   Entain Central and Eastern Europe segment (Entain CEE) comprises of Croatia and Poland

(6)   Combined market share for North America by GGR for last three months ending January 2024 (includes US markets where BetMGM was active and an estimation for Ontario); internal estimates used where operator-specific results are unavailable

(7)   2024 results are unaudited, with the tables presented relating to continuing operations and including both statutory and non-statutory measures

Q1 Conference Call & Audio Webcast

An analyst call will be held today, Wednesday 17 April 2024 at 9:00am BST. Participants may join via webcast or by conference call dial in, approximately 10 minutes before the start of the call.

Live audio webcast link: Entain Group 2024 Q1 Trading Update

To participate in the Q&A, please use conference call dial in:

                UK                           +44 20 3936 2999

                US                           +1 646 787 9445

                Global Dial-In Numbers

                Access Code:        506198

A replay and transcript will be available on our website: https://entaingroup.com/investor-relations/results-centre/

Enquiries:

Upcoming dates:

Annual General Meeting    24 April 2024

2024 Interim results:                          8 August 2024

About Entain plc

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. Entain provides the technology and capabilities which power BetMGM as well as exclusive games and products, specially developed at its in-house gaming studios. The Group is tax resident in the UK and is the only global operator to exclusively operate in domestically regulated or regulating markets operating in over 30 territories.

Entain is a leader in ESG, a member of FTSE4Good, the DJSI and is AA rated by MSCI. The Group has set a science-based target, committing to be carbon net zero by 2035 and through the Entain Foundation supports a variety of initiatives, focusing on safer gambling, grassroots sport, diversity in technology and community projects. For more information see the Group's website: www.entaingroup.com`.

Important notices

Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements which are made in good faith, including with respect to Entain's current expectations, intentions and projections regarding its future performance, strategic initiatives, anticipated events or trends and other matters that are not historical facts and which are, by their nature, inherently predictive, speculative and involve risks and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about operating performance, strategic initiatives, objectives, market position, industry trends, general economic conditions, expected expenditures, expected cost savings and financial results are forward‐looking statements. Any statements contained in this announcement that are not statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward‐looking statements. These forward-looking statements, which may use words such as "aim", "anticipate", "believe", "could", "intend", "estimate", "expect", "may", "plan", "project", "will" or words or terms of similar meaning or the negative thereof, are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. There are a number of factors including, but not limited to, commercial, operational, economic and financial factors, that could cause actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond Entain's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as changes in taxation or fiscal policy, future market conditions, currency fluctuations, the behaviour of other market participants, the actions of governments or governmental regulators, or other risk factors, such as changes in the political, social and regulatory framework in which Entain operates or in economic or technological trends or conditions, including inflation, recession and consumer confidence, on a global, regional or national basis. Given those risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this announcement. Entain and its affiliates, and any of its or their respective directors, officers, partners, employees, advisers or agents (collectively, "Representatives") expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required to do so by applicable law or regulation.

In particular, no statement in this announcement is intended to be a profit forecast or profit estimate and no statement of a financial metric (including estimates of EBITDA, profit before tax, free cash flow or net debt) should be interpreted to mean that any financial metric for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published position of Entain and its subsidiaries. Certain statements in this announcement may contain estimates. The estimates set out in this announcement have been prepared based on numerous assumptions and forecasts, some of which are outside of Entain's influence and/or control, and is therefore inherently uncertain and there can be no guarantee or assurance that it will be correct. The estimates have not been audited, reviewed, verified or subject to any procedures by Entain's auditors. Undue reliance should not be placed on them and there can be no guarantee or assurance that they will be correct.

This announcement is being issued by and is the sole responsibility of Entain. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be made as to, or in relation to, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by or on behalf of, Entain (apart from the responsibilities or liabilities that may be imposed by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended or the regulatory regime established thereunder) or by its affiliates or any of its Representatives as to, or in relation to, the accuracy, adequacy, fairness or completeness of this announcement or any other written or oral information made available to or publicly available to any interested party or its advisers or any other statement made or purported to be made by or on behalf of Entain or any of its affiliates or any of its Representatives in connection with Entain and any responsibility and liability whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise therefore is expressly disclaimed.

LEI: 213800GNI3K45LQR8L28