Contrasting trans-Tasman fortunes for Entain

Entain’s New Zealand business continues to see significant year-on-year growth but challenges in the Australian market dragged on the global company’s international profitability across the first three months of 2025.

Entain, headquartered in London and publicly listed, released its firstquarter results earlier this week, with a broadly positive 11 per cent growth in its global net gaming revenue.

The results, powered by continued strong returns in the United States, where it operates a joint venture with BetMGM, led to a 12 per cent surge in the company’s share price over the past five days, recovering many of the losses achieved since March.

The sudden departure of chief executive Gavin Isaacs in February after just five months had clearly created concerns, but the decision to permanently appoint interim boss Stella David to the role permanently has been seen as a significant positive for a company which has been in a state of executive flux at a global level since Jette Nygaard-Andersen left in December 2023.

This week’s results revealed that not only had net gaming revenue from the US venture grown 34 per cent compared to the same quarter last year, there was also 10 per cent growth in UK and Ireland, 12 per cent in Central Europe and 5 per cent in the international market, which includes Australia, Italy, Brazil, Netherlands, Georgia, New Zealand, Germany and Spain.

Brazil grew 31 per cent year on year, while according to chief financial officer Rob Wood, “Spain, Greece, New Zealand, Canada and Austria all saw double-digit growth in Q1.  And it is this geographic diversity that provides consistency in our blended Group performance”.

Entain entered into a 25-year deal to operate TAB NZ in 2023 and while there have been some challenges along the way, including some key departures and a pending ban on greyhound racing by the NZ government, wagering continues to grow off the back of its entry into the Kiwi market.

A monthly update from newly appointed Entain New Zealand managing director Sam Moncur this week revealed that turnover on thoroughbred racing increased 21 per cent in March – compared to the same month last year to $44.8 million, while the number of active customers had increased from 90,500 in March 2024 to 109,000 in March 2025.

Entain to front Federal Court over allegations of “serious and systemic non-compliance”

One of Australia’s biggest wagering companies could face significant penalties over allegations of non-compliance with Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.

The StraightBren O’Brien

Champions Day at Ellerslie in March proved a major wagering success story with the inaugural edition of the NZB Kiwi generating $1.37 million turnover, the most of any race for the month.  The other two four races, the Auckland Cup ($1 million), the NZ Derby ($920,000), and the Windsor Park 3YO Trophy ($701,000), were all on the same day.

TAB NZ’s sports turnover also grew in March 2025 to $89.8 million, a 17 per cent growth in the same month in 2024.

Legislation is also currently in the works which would grant Entain a monopoly via a legislative net which would ban offshore operators in New Zealand, triggering a further $100 million payment from the wagering company.

But while New Zealand continues its upward trajectory, the Australian market has taken a backward step.

The Ladbrokes and Neds businesses had weathered the uncertainty of 2024 remarkably well and grew net gaming revenue 1 per cent on 2023, a strong result given what other wagering providers had reported.

But the first three months of 2025 resulted in net gaming revenue dropping 8 per cent, something, with Wood attributed in an earnings call as “mainly due to adverse horse racing results”.

Dual departures: Lachlan Fitt and Cameron Rodger to leave Entain

The exodus at Entain has continued, with Lachlan Fitt and Cameron Rodger, two of the most senior executives in the wagering company’s Australian and New Zealand operation, announcing their departure.

The StraightBren O’Brien

Asked to elaborate on the challenges with the Australian business, Wood said: “I would say volumes are broadly flat in the Australian market. That’s what we’ve seen in Q1. Across 2024, we edged the market with low single digits growth, but broadly flat and that’s carried on into Q1.”

“The cyclone (Alfred) didn’t help volumes. We did lose a lot of racing fixtures, but fairly immaterial in the grand scheme of things. So the minus eight that we saw was very much margin-led.”

Entain had several executives depart the Australian and New Zealand business in the first three months of 2023, notably CFO Lachlan Fitt and Entain New Zealand managing director Cameron Rodger, while media executive Andy Hoad left to take a role at Racing Victoria.  

It confirmed in February that it would change the direction of its Ladbrokes Racing Club away from horse ownership

Meanwhile, AUSTRAC announced in December it was taking Entain to Federal Court over what it termed serious non-compliance with Australia’s money laundering laws.

That case, set down for September, could result in fines in the hundreds of millions of dollars.