Sports betting giant Entain faces £40m earnings hit as regulators crack down on online slot games

Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain faces a hit of around £40m this year due to regulatory challenges.

It swung to a pre-tax loss of £842.6m in 2023, from a profit of £102.9m in 2022, after paying £585m to resolve an investigation into alleged bribery in a former Turkish subsidiary and impairment charges related primarily to Australian operations. .

Profits rose 1 per cent to £1bn, but will take a hit of around £40m this year due to regulatory changes in the UK (with limits on online slot games) and Netherlands, which plans stricter deposit limits.

Former boss Jette Nygaard-Andersen resigned in December, just weeks after the legal settlement and sports results that went against the bookmaker.

She was replaced by non-executive director Stella David on an interim basis until a successor is appointed.

entertain It has also been under pressure from activist investors, one of whom, Ricky Sandler, has been named to its board of directors.

The company’s shares fell 4.9 per cent, or 40.4 pence, to 790 pence.