Media, entertainment and gaming are rapidly converging, which elevates the experience of customers to make them more engaging, interactive and social.
What makes this possible is ultimately technology, but what really gives us the edge is that fact that we have built our platform around a single data lake. That gives us the ability to analyse customer behaviours and use analytics and AI to develop new ways to provide those little moments of excitement that is our guiding purpose.
Technology and data are enabling us to develop the interactive experiences that are becoming the hallmark of the Entain customer journey, distinguishing us for our customers – and from our competitors. We’ve committed to a global innovation workstream to deliver new and exciting experiences for customers, such as our exciting JockeyCam footage, which you can see for yourself in this edition of Engage.
Meanwhile, our focus on strategic M&A continues. We’re an ambitious business, growing across key global regulated markets, completing four transactions during 2021 and four more in 2022 to-date. BetMGM, our joint venture in the US, is going from strength-to-strength. It’s currently live in 23 markets across the US and Canada and has achieved a leadership position with 25% share in sports betting and gaming in the markets in which it operates. In Engage, we’ve taken the opportunity to reflect on the development of the US market since the repeal of PASPA in 2018, and the scale of the opportunity for BetMGM.
Our industry-leading platform ensures that BetMGM is able to enter new markets faster, and with a wider product offering than almost all its competitors in the US.
In this edition we’re turning our Market Spotlight on another fast-growing market – Estonia. Having acquired Enlabs – an online sports betting and gaming business – in 2021, our Estonian brands are already feeling the Entain difference. I hope you enjoy learning more about Estonian Entain customers, and the diversity of brands we offer there.
Our powerful Entain Platform enables unparalleled customer experience, and this extends to responsible play. This year we’ve been awarded two fantastic accolades: Safer Gambling Provider at the EGR Awards North America, and Advanced Safer Gambling Standard by GamCare, the leading UK provider of free information, advice and support for anyone harmed by gambling. These are important awards for us, signifying how far we’ve come since 2020 and reflecting the hard work and dedication of our 24,000+ colleagues around the world.
It’s very important to us that we continue to look after our customers – and look after our own future success – by keeping betting and gaming exciting and reducing harmful play.
The customer is at the heart of everything we do, but as I say above, our ability to deliver those moments of excitement is technology – and we have a passion for it, but we think it can be even better. The one way to do that is to make technology a truly diverse industry; one that better reflects wider society and provides opportunities to those who often miss out. With this edition of Engage lining up with Pride month in the UK, we felt it was important to champion diversity in the tech sector, highlighting why it is so good for business operations, as well as some of our key initiatives undertaken to train the next generation of tech experts – whatever their background.
In early June, we issued our ESG report for 2021/22, showing our significant progress on all things relating to sustainability, and honouring the four commitments we made in our Sustainability Charter in 2020, namely:
- An exclusive focus on regulated markets
- Continuing to take the lead on safer betting and gaming
- Pursuing the highest standards of corporate governance and
- Investing in people and our communities
Through the fantastic efforts of my colleagues around the World, we have achieved AA status with leading ESG ratings agency MSCI and secured continued memberships to both FTSE4Good and the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for four years running – making us the only betting and gaming company to do so. Plus, we were runner-up in Management Today’s ‘Britain’s Most Admired Companies’ list.
It’s a story I feel proud to hear and share. I hope you do too.
I hope you enjoy Entain Engage and I look forward to updating you all again with further progress in the near future.