Q1 Trading Update
Summary by AI BETAClose X
16 April 2026
Entain plc
("Entain" or the "Group")
Q1 delivers strong volume growth; FY26 guidance reiterated
Entain plc (LSE: ENT), the global sports betting and gaming group, today reports trading for the period 1 January to 31 March 2026 ("Q1").
All figures constant currency1 unless otherwise stated.
• Group Net Gaming Revenue ("NGR") +3%1 in line with expectations, driven by continuing momentum and strong volume2 growth (+8%1)
• Online NGR up +5%1, reflects strong underlying performances across both Gaming (+9%1) and Sports (-1%1) despite sports margin down 1.3pp year on year
◦ UK&I +13%1, and Australia +12%1, ahead of expectations
◦ Online volumes2 +10%1 YoY with growth across all of the Group's largest markets
• FY26 guidance reiterated: expects Online NGR growth of 5-7% on a constant currency basis, and remains comfortable with market expectations4
Stella David, CEO of Entain, commented:
"We entered 2026 with strong momentum which has continued in Q1, with strong volume2 growth across our diversified portfolio. This further demonstrates our ongoing strategic execution and strengthening operations, and also highlights the growth embedded in our globally scaled business.
Our strong and resilient business has started the year well, and we continue to build on this momentum. Our sharper focus and optimisation initiatives reinforce our conviction in delivering sustainable growth and improving cash generation. Entain remains well positioned to be a long-term industry winner, seizing the many opportunities ahead, and I am confident in our future."
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Q1 2026: 1 January to 31 March |
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NGR |
Volume2 |
Gaming NGR |
Sports NGR |
Sports Wagers |
Sports Margin |
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Group |
3% |
8% |
7% |
(3%) |
10% |
(1.5pp) |
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Online |
5% |
10% |
9% |
(1%) |
11% |
(1.3pp) |
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Retail |
(3%) |
3% |
1% |
(6%) |
6% |
(1.9pp) |
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UK & Ireland |
6% |
9% |
8% |
1% |
9% |
(1.1pp) |
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Online UK&I |
13% |
14% |
12% |
8% |
9% |
(0.4pp) |
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Retail UK&I |
(1%) |
4% |
2% |
(3%) |
9% |
(1.8pp) |
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International |
1% |
9% |
8% |
(3%) |
11% |
(1.5pp) |
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Online International |
2% |
10% |
8% |
(2%) |
12% |
(1.4pp) |
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Retail International |
(4%) |
5% |
(4%) |
(5%) |
4% |
(1.7pp) |
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CEE |
(6%) |
2% |
(3%) |
(8%) |
6% |
(2.7pp) |
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Online CEE |
(1%) |
6% |
2% |
(4%) |
10% |
(2.3pp) |
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Retail CEE |
(30%) |
(21%) |
(54%) |
(25%) |
(13%) |
(4.2pp) |
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BetMGM |
6% |
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Online |
7% |
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9% |
4% |
3% |
0.6pp |
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Retail |
(43%) |
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Group (inc 50% of BetMGM) |
3% |
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Q1 trading highlights
• Group NGR exc. US up +3%1, with strong volumes2 across both Online (+10%1) and Retail (+3%1) partially offset by softer sports margins -1.5pp
◦ Online NGR up +5%1 (Gaming 9%1, Sports -1%1) supported by double-digit volume2 growth
◦ Retail NGR down -3%1 reflecting -1.9pp YoY sports margin headwind
• UK & Ireland NGR up +6%1 (Online +13%1, Retail -1%1)
◦ Strong UK&I Online NGR growth +13%1, reflecting ongoing market share gains with continued momentum across both gaming and sports
◦ UK Retail continues to outperform the underlying market supported by growth in gaming (+2%1) and volumes2 (+4%1)
• International NGR up +1%1 (Online +2%1, Retail -4%1)
◦ Australia returned to strong positive YoY growth with NGR +12%1, ahead of expectations
◦ +9%1 YoY volume2 growth partially offset by customer-friendly sports results, particularly in Brazil and Italy
• Entain CEE NGR -6%1 (Online-1%1, Retail -30%1)
◦ Poland benefitted from its migration to CEE SuperSport platform, whilst highly customer-friendly sports results (Croatia sports margin -7.1pp YoY) weighed on NGR due to football-heavy sports mix
• BetMGM Q1 Net Revenue of $696m, +6%1, (iGaming +9%1, Online Sports +4%1) reflecting robust iGaming growth alongside softer Online Sports growth including player friendly sports results
◦ Q1 Adjusted EBITDA6 of $25m with positive contributions from both iGaming and Online Sports
• Total Group NGR, including 50% share of BetMGM up +3%1
Outlook:
Entain confirms its FY26 guidance of 5-7% Online NGR growth on a constant currency1 basis. Entain remains comfortable with market expectations4 for FY26 Group Underlying EBITDA and reiterates its confidence in generating at least £500m of annual adjusted cashflow5 in 2028.
As announced on 14 April 2026, BetMGM continues to maintain focus on its areas of strength and delivering profitable and sustainable growth, with FY26 guidance updated to reflect year-to-date performance and revised outlook expectations. BetMGM now expects FY26 revenue of between $2.9-$3.1 billion3 with Adjusted EBITDA6 expected to be towards the lower end of its existing guidance range of $300-$350 million.
Notes
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1 |
Growth on a constant currency basis is calculated by translating both current and prior year performance at the 2026 exchange rates |
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2 |
Volume growth adjusts NGR to remove the impact of sports margin fluctuations (assuming the same sports margin in both years) |
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3 |
BetMGM's guidance provided at FY25 results (4 February 2026) |
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4 |
As at 10 April 2026, Company compiled consensus for FY26 Group EBITDA of £1,131m (excluding BetMGM parent fees) based on 11 analyst estimates |
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5 |
Cashflow before working capital, equity dividends, acquisitions and associated financing |
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6 |
BetMGM Adjusted Underlying EBITDA is defined as Underlying EBITDA before parent fees. Parent fees are the operating expense to BetMGM for the provision of certain licenses and services by the parent entities, MGM and Entain, and their affiliates |
Q1 Conference Call & Audio Webcast
An analyst call will be held today, Thursday 16 April 2026 at 9:00am BST. Participants may join via webcast or by conference call dial in, approximately 10 minutes before the start of the call.
Webcast can be accessed by registration in advance via Registration or on the day via: Entain 2026 Q1 Update
To participate in the Q&A, please register in advance to receive access code & pin, or use dial ins below for operator assisted registration on the day:
UK +44 20 3936 2999
US +1 855 979 6654
Global Dial-In Numbers
Access Code: 302361
A replay and transcript will be available on our website: Results Centre - Entain Group
Enquiries
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Investor Relations - Entain plc |
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Media - Entain plc |
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Sodali & Co Rob Greening/Russ Lynch/Sam Austrums |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7250 1446 |
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 and SuperSport; Gaming brands include Foxy Bingo, Gala, GiocoDigitale, Ninja Casino, Optibet, Partypoker and PartyCasino. The Group operates the TAB NZ brand as part of a long-term strategic partnership with TAB New Zealand. 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, being AAA rated by MSCI, and a member of the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook and the FTSE4Good. 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
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