Australian rebound highlights strong quarter for Entain

Entain’s Australian business has staged a strong turnaround in fortunes with a 12 per cent growth in net gaming revenue across the first three months of 2026, as compared to 2025.

After a run of challenging results, the Ladbrokes and Neds brands staged a turnaround, surpassing internal expectations with a double-digit jump. In the same quarter last year, net gaming revenue had dropped eight per cent.

While “customer-friendly sports results” were attributed to the decline in Q1 last year, a change in customer approach, prompted by a greater compliance focus, has also played a part in Entain’s Australian challenges.

It cut its workforce by 10 per cent late last year, while it exited from initiatives such as the Ladbrokes Racing Club as well as a host of sponsorship agreements.

Having reset the strategy of the business – what new Australia and New Zealand CEO Andrew Vouris calls “winning but not at any cost” – it appears to have gone through the worst of the slump.

On top of that, punter results have started going the way of big bookmakers again. The Straight reported that last Saturday was the best day, in terms of margins, for the Entain bookmakers in Australia in at least five years.

The Australian result was front and centre of Entain’s global results released on Thursday, which, along with a 13 per cent growth in NGR in the UK and Ireland, helped online NGR increase by 5 per cent across the group.

“We entered 2026 with strong momentum, which has continued in Q1, with strong volume growth across our diversified portfolio,” Stella David, chief executive of Entain, commented.

“This further demonstrates our ongoing strategic execution and strengthening operations, and also highlights the growth embedded in our globally scaled business.”

FY26 guidance globally remains unchanged, with online NGR growth of five to seven per cent.

“Entain remains comfortable with market expectations for FY26 Group Underlying EBITDA and reiterates its confidence in generating at least £500m of annual adjusted cashflow in 2028,” it said.